The End is Only Beginning
by MoonlightSpirit
Summary: Katherine's deadly plan, Stefan and Damon's fight for Elena and a plethora of surprises come to a boil with the approach of the Lockwood Masquerade Ball. Tempers flare. Bonds break. Secrets spill. "I won't stop until the streets run red with blood."
1. Mysterious Visitor

**The idea for this actually came from me wondering who was the vampire who turned Katherine. I ended up creating this vampire in my head and started thinking of this fanfic. I hope you like it! Enjoy!**

_**PLEASE READ THIS:**_** This fanfic takes place right after 'The Return' after Damon breaks Jeremy's neck.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

The door of the boarding house slammed close. Damon counted down in his head until his younger brother was surely to appear in his room and scold him.

"What were you thinking?" Stefan snapped. Damon looked up from where he lay on his bed.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Stefan asked, glaring at his older brother, "Elena was devastated. She _hates _you now." Damon's crystal blue eyes stared at the ceiling.

"I don't care," he said, his tone flat.

"I know you care," Stefan said crossing his arms over his chest, "Because I know how you feel about Elena." With vampire speed, Damon crossed the room until he was right in front of Stefan.

"I feel nothing," he hissed before shoving past Stefan and going downstairs. He turned to go into the living room, but stopped so suddenly that Stefan nearly bumped into him as he followed him downstairs. He opened his mouth to ask Damon why he had stopped, but then saw the reason. Someone was in their house.

It was a girl, about eighteen years old. She sat sideways on an armchair, her legs draped over the arm, facing them. She had mocha skin, waist long wavy black hair and dark brown eyes. She was dressed in a pair of dark skinny jeans, black suede ankle boots and a blood red, short sleeve blouse with ruffles along the neckline. She held a glass of wine in her hand, tracing a red painted nail along the rim of the glass. Her eyes were made up with black eye shadow and her red lips curled up into a smirk as she purred, "Hello boys."

**So I know this chapter was short, but I just wanted to use it to introduce the new character (in my head, it would be at this point that the screen cut's to black and **_**The Vampire Diaries **_**logo comes up on the screen). Who else is excited for Thursday's episode? (The promo with Lady Gaga's song _Teeth _was EPIC! This episode looks so badass, I can't wait!) I hope you liked this short beginning! Please Review!**


	2. Friend or Foe?

**So I kinda get not getting any reviews on the last chapter since it was really short, but please review this one. Here's chapter 2! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Dairies.**

Jeremy had finally fallen asleep after his (near) death experience with Damon. Elena sat on her bed, hugging her knees to her chest. Stefan had left a few minutes ago, promising to talk to Damon about what he did. But Elena couldn't help but feel oddly alone in the house. Especially with the threat of Katherine looming overhead like a dark cloud. She had already been invited into the house once. She could come back any time she wanted to.

* * *

"Who are you?" Damon snapped. The girl's red lips turned down into a faux pout.

"How rude?" she said, mock sadness in her voice, "No 'Hello'? No 'How are you'?"

"Don't provoke her," Stefan said quietly to Damon. They had no idea who this person was or what they wanted. With vampire speed, the girl got up and was in front of them in half a second.

"Better listen to your little bro Damon," she said, tapping Damon's nose. She placed her glass on the table and sat on the arm of the couch, facing Stefan and Damon.

"To answer your question, my name is Anastasia," she said, "Last name, not important." She waved a hand dismissively, "I've lived many lifetimes under many names."

"Why are you here?" Stefan asked. Anastasia's brow furrowed.

"You two ask a lot of questions," she said, and then let out a long dramatic sigh, flopping backwards onto the couch "I guess chivalry is dead." In a moment of anger, Damon ran toward Anastasia, ready to grab her by the throat, slam her into a wall and force her to tell them what she was doing in their house. But before he was even halfway there, Anastasia was up and had Damon pinned against the wall with one hand to his chest. Her teasing smirk was gone, not replaced with a look of dead seriousness.

"I am 782 years old," Anastasia hissed, fangs out and the veins around her eyes rising, "Don't test me little boy." She let go of Damon and sat down on the couch, crossing her legs and picking up her glass of wine, taking a sip. Stefan and Damon glanced at each other, unsure of what to do.

"I understand Katherine is back in Mystic Falls," she said, "Up to no good I suppose."

"You know Katherine?" Stefan asked. Anastasia let out a humorless chuckle and turned to face him.

"_Know her_?" she cackled, "I'm the vampire who _turned _her." An unsettling silence fell over the room at her words.

"Ominous silence," Anastasia said, tapping nail against her glass, "Never a good sign." She set down her glass again.

"You're working with Katherine?" Damon asked. Anastasia looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Of course not," she said indigently, "Why would I work with that psycho bitch after she…never mind, that's not important now, what is important is...I know how to kill Katherine." Stefan and Damon exchanged looks of shock.

"I was her…mentor I guess you can say, after she turned," Anastasia said, "I taught her everything she knows, so I know her inside and out. I know how that devious little brain of her's works." Anastasia tapped her temple for emphasis. Damon and Stefan couldn't believe what they were hearing. Right in front of them sat their solution to getting rid of Katherine.

"Why would you betray her?" Stefan asked, "If you were her mentor?" Anastasia rolled her eyes.

"Geez, what is this twenty questions?" she asked, "Long story short. She betrayed me in 1864. No one betrays me and gets away with it. I can't do it alone and I thought that you two would help me, knowing your long history with Katherine. I understand that you," she pointed a red nail at Stefan, "Even found yourself a little Katherine look alike."

"Elena is nothing like Katherine," Stefan said. Anastasia shrugged her shoulders.

"Either way, she looks just like her and it's kind of creepy," Anastasia said, "But if that floats your banana boat, who am I to judge? However, do you think it's smart leaving her alone in that house?" Damon and Stefan exchanged looks of confusion.

"What do you mean?" Stefan asked, taking a few steps toward her.

"I understand that Katherine has already been invited into that house," she said, "Who's to say she won't go in there again? She can just waltz in and murder Elena at any given moment." Panic flickered across Stefan's face.

"I'm going to get Elena," he said, rushing out the house at vampire speed, leaving Damon and Anastasia alone.

"Well," Anastasia said, clapping her hands together, "This had been quite a night, I think I'm going to head up to bed. If you don't mind, I set my stuff up in the guest room on the second floor. Nighty-night Damon." She wiggled her fingers at him before going upstairs.

"What makes you think you're staying here?" Damon asked, walking to their staircase that Anastasia was already halfway up. She turned around, hands on her hips, and pointed one finger at Damon.

"You guys need to destroy Katherine," she said, then pointed the finger at herself, "I weaknesses about her that you don't. It's simple math sweetie." She gave him a dazzling smile before going back upstairs. Damon groaned, closing rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. He opened his eyes and his gaze landed on Anastasia's forgotten glass.

"Damn little vampire drank my wine," he muttered grumpily.

**So there's chapter 2! One thing I always worried me in Vampire Diaries was the threat that Katherine had already been invited into Elena's house, so she could waltz in at any moment she pleased, so I decided to add that in here. I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	3. Dinner

**Come on people, over 100 hits and only 1 review? I could really use some feedback, I want to know whether this story is good or not. Well, here's chapter 3! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

On the way to Elena's house, Stefan called Alaric.

"Get Jenna out of the house," Stefan said, "Make up an excuse, but she needs to stay out of there until Katherine is gone."

"Why?" Alaric asked.

"Katherine was already invited inside the house once," Stefan said, flying over the speed limit in an attempt to get to Elena. Horrendous images of what Katherine may do to her flashed through his mind.

"She can come in at any time and kill them," Stefan said, "Their not safe there. I'm going to get Elena now."

"Okay," Alaric said and Stefan could hear the strain in his voice, "I'll call her now and…make up a story or something." They hung up and minutes later, Stefan pulled up in front of the house. When he knocked on the door, Jenna answered the phone to her ear.

"Hi Stefan," she mouthed, then said into the phone, "That sounds great Alaric! I just need to make sure Elena and Jeremy will be okay…sure, I can be ready in like, an hour…okay, bye!"

"Big date?" Stefan said, feigning interest when in reality, he was expecting Katherine to come bursting through the door at any moment..

"Alaric invited me on a trip to visit his parents," Jenna said, her face flushed with excitement, "Like a little vacation. He said he already took the whole month off and wondered if I wanted to come with him. He's leaving tonight and thought it would be nice if I could come to. I'd love to, but I don't I'm anxious about leaving Elena and Jeremy alone here so long. Maybe they cold stay at Bonnie's place. Or with the Lockwoods."

"They can come stay at the boarding house," Stefan offered, making a mental note to thank Alaric, "If that's okay with you." Jenna pursued her lips.

"Hmmm," she said, "I don't think I like the idea of Elena staying with her boyfriend for a whole month."

"Jeremy will be there," Stefan said, "And Damon. And an old friend of the family came to visit today. She's staying for…a while." Jenna's brow furrowed as she thought it over. Stefan noticed how her left eyebrow twitched slightly at the mention of Damon's name."

"I'm a bit suspicious of that brother of yours," she said, "He's…"

"No need to say it, I know how Damon can be," Stefan said, "I'll make sure he's on his best behavior." Jenna thought for a moment.

"Fine," she said, pointing an accusatory finger at Stefan, "But no funny business."

"Scout's honor," Stefan said, "I'll just go tell Elena." Stefan went upstairs to Elena's room. She was already asleep, curled up under her sheets. She looked so peaceful, Stefan almost didn't have the will to wake her up, but he had to.

"Elena," he whispered, shaking her shoulder softly, "Elena wake up." Elena's brown eyes fluttered open.

"Stefan?" she muttered sleepily.

"Pack what you can," he said softly, "You and Jeremy are staying with Damon and I for a while."

"Why?" Elena asked.

"Katherine has been invited in here once, she can come back anytime she wants," Stefan said, "It's not safe for you guys here. Alaric is taking Jenna away for a month. You and Jeremy will stay at the boarding house." Elena nodded blearily and dragged herself out of bed.

"I'll go tell Jeremy," Stefan said. He went into Jeremy's room while Elena packed her bags. Within half an hour, Elena and Jeremy were packed and ready to go.

"Behave," Jenna said as they left, looking pointedly at Elena and Stefan.

"I'll keep an eye on the lovebirds," Jeremy said with a grin, trying to reassure Jenna she smiled and watched them get into Stefan's car and drive off.

"Keep Damon away from Jeremy," Elena said, her tone cold, "And me." The memory of what Damon did to Jeremy that night was all too fresh in her mind.

"I wish I could, but he lives there too Elena," Stefan said, "What he did was wrong. But you're bound to run into him." Elena glared out the window.

"Then he doesn't exist to me," she muttered. Stefan nodded to show he understood. When they got to the boarding house, the smell of food assailed them. Jeremy had bolted up the steps, muttering something about having to use the bathroom.

"I made dinner for the humans!" Anastasia's voice floated from the kitchen, "Sir Grumpypants a.k.a. Damon has gone to bed without a bite and I am personally offended by the fact." Elena looked at Stefan a raised eyebrow.

"I'll explain in a minute." Stefan said. Anastasia came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel, stopping suddenly when she saw Elena and Stefan at the door.

"Wow," he said, her dark brown eyes staring at Elena, "You really are Katherine's double. Creepy." She held out a hand toward her.

"Anastasia," she said.

"Elena Gilbert," Elena said slowly, shaking Anastasia's hand, "Are you a friend of Stefan and Damon?"

"Nope, just popped in this morning," Anastasia said cheerfully, going back into the kitchen. Elena stared up at Stefan.

"She's the vampire who turned Katherine," Stefan explained "And she was Katherine's mentor. Apparently, Katherine betrayed her in 1864 and she wants revenge. Being Katherine's, she knows her well and is confident she can help us destroy her." Elena looked into the kitchen, where Anastasia bounced around, humming 'Ring Around the Rosy'.

"She doesn't seem like the vengeful type," Elena said.

"Yeah," Stefan said slowly, following Elena into the kitchen, where Anastasia had already set the table, "She's kind of weird too."

"I take that as a compliment," Anastasia said, setting a huge dish of delicious looking pasta on the table.

"What smells so good?" Jeremy asked, walking into the kitchen. He stopped short at the sight of Anastasia, who had just sailed past him to get the broccoli simmering on the stove, but spun around to see him.

"Ummm, hi," he said awkwardly. Anastasia grinned.

"Hello," she said, holding her hand out to him, "I'm Anastasia. Acquaintance of Stefan and Damon."

"Jeremy Gilbert," Jeremy said, shaking her hand "Elena's brother." Anastasia let out a small giggle, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well, dinner is almost done," she said, "Sit, sit." She walked out the kitchen to the foot of the stairs and shouted upstairs, "DAMON SALVOTRE, GET DOWN HERE NOW!" Before coming back into the kitchen. She poured cheese sauce over the broccoli before setting it on the table.

"Help yourselves," Anastasia said, tilting her head to the side.

"Damon is still not getting up," she mumbled. She turned on her heel and left with vampire speed. Seconds later, Damon's shouts of "Ouch! Ouch!" could be heard coming down the stairs. Anastasia entered the kitchen, holding Damon by the shell of his ear. She shoved him into the seat next to Elena and the air immediately tensed. Anastasia took a set between Jeremy and Stefan, either oblivious to or ignoring the tense silence that hung in the air, the only sound being the clink of silverware on plates.

"Okay, why the awkward silence?" Anastasia asked after a few minutes. Stefan and Jeremy glanced at Damon and Elena.

"I am currently ignoring the existence of a certain Damon Salvatore," Elena snapped, stabbing her broccoli.

"And the poor broccoli had to suffer for that," Anastasia said with a sigh.

"I'm not hungry anyway," Damon said, getting up and leaving, his food untouched. Anastasia frowned and got up, picking up Damon's plate.

"I'll take it to him," she offered, "I want a word with him anyway."

**There's chapter 3! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	4. Read Him Like a Book

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 4! Enjoy!**

_**PLEASE READ THIS:**_** Since I have no TV in my dorm room, I have not been able to watch the latest episode, 'Masquerade' yet. So please, DO NOT LEAVE ANY SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE 'MASQUERADE' IN YOUR REVIEWS! I'm trying my best to avoid any and all spoilers for the episode until I see it. Please and Thank You!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

Anastasia stormed into Damon's room, one hand on her hip and the other holding his plate. Damon lay on his bed, his hands resting behind his head.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Damon snapped.

"Eat," she said, placing the plate on Damon's lap, her tone suddenly serious, "You'll need to keep your strength up if you want to defeat Katherine." Damon frowned, but took a bite of food. Anastasia grabbed a chair and pulled it over to Damon's bed, straddling it.

"What is up with you?" Anastasia asked, "From what I heard, you're supposed to be the devious, fun brother. I thought the brooding was Stefan's thing." Damon scoffed. Anastasia's red lips pursed, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Does this have anything to do with Elena?" she asked, "I know you love her." Damon chocked a bit on his food.

"How-?" he gasped. Anastasia giggled.

"When you've been around as long as I have, you learn things," she said, "And as corny and cliché as it sounds, I notice the way you look at her, even if you don't." Damon frowned. He didn't like being read so easily.

"So what did you do to make her so mad?" Anastasia asked.

"Killed her brother," Damon said. Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

"Jeremy?" she asked, "He's right downstairs."

"Magic ring," Damon muttered, "It bought him back to life." Anastasia nodded.

"Not the best way to win her affection," she said, "Why did you do it?"

"Are you my psychiatrist?" Damon snapped. Anastasia stared at him hard.

"She hurt you," she muttered. Something inside him snapped. He hated how this quirky little vampire could read him so easily.

"You want to know what happened?" Damon shouted, suddenly standing, his food falling to the ground, "In the span of barely an hour, both Katherine and Elena – both girls that I love – told me they choose Stefan! They both said 'I love Stefan. It's always going to be Stefan'!" Damon's chest heaved as he breathed heavily. Anastasia sat there, unfazed by his sudden outburst. With her super hearing, she heard the chatter and clinking of silverware suddenly stop.

"They heard you," she said softly.

"Good!" Damon shouted. He spun around to leave, but Anastasia grabbed his wrist. Even though her hand was so small, Damon found it impossible to break from her iron grasp.

"You're not going anywhere," she said, "You're not stable. Katherine will find you and turn you against us. You want her gone, don't you?" Damon clenched his teeth, resisting the urge to rip Anastasia's head from her shoulders.

"Sit down," Anastasia said, her voice even and calm. She guided Damon back to his bed and placed a hand on his shoulder, making him sit.

"Now you can stay here or come downstairs," Anastasia said, "That choice is up to you. But don't even think of leaving or else I'll be up here before you can even move an inch." Anastasia left his room. Her heard her boots click downstairs. Damon knew he wasn't going down there. He didn't need everyone ogling at him like he was some kind of freak show.

He turned over on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. A few minutes later, someone knocked on his door.

"Leave me alone Anastasia," she snapped.

"It's me," said Elena's voice quietly. She stood in the doorway, looking anxiously at Damon.

"We need to talk," she said.

**There's chapter 4! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	5. Apologies and Soap Sud Fights

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 5! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

"I thought you were currently ignoring my existence," Damon muttered into his pillow, his voice muffled. Elena turned around the seat Anastasia had vacated and sat down in it.

"I heard what you said," she said, looking down at her hands, "About…you know." If Damon heard her, he made no acknowledgement of it.

"If I had known Katherine had said that barely even an hour before-"

"You would have what?" Damon snapped, lifting his head up to look at her, his crystal blue eyes blazing almost silver with anger.

Elena opened her mouth to continue her sentence, but he was right. Would she have said anything different had she known what Katherine had said?

"I just came up here to say I'm sorry," she whispered, "That's all." Elena stood up and left. Seconds after she left, Damon heard a new, familiar set of footsteps come up the stairs and stop in front of his room. Damon groaned, rolling onto his back.

"Anastasia, do you know that you are the most annoying vampire I have ever had the misfortune to meet?" Damon said. Anastasia bounced into the room.

"You two made progress!" she said with a bright smile, clapping her hands together. Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're a bipolar little thing aren't you?" he asked. Anastasia shrugged.

"I have been instituted into five insane asylums in my lifetime," she said.

"That explains everything," Damon said in a flat tone. Anastasia sat on the edge of his bed and stroked Damon's hair. Damon was slightly taken aback by the action.

"She'll come around," Anastasia said, her voice soft, "Trust me."

"How do you know?" Damon asked. Anastasia chuckled.

"I'm over 700 years old," she said, "You learn things when you've lived that long. Now are you ready to come downstairs and eat or are you going to continue taking Stefan's place as the brooding brother?"

"I'm coming," Damon groaned, sitting up.

"Good," Anastasia said, nodding, "You can't sit around and mope all day." She poked his stomach and said, "All that ab will turn to flab." Damon watched her sail out the room. Okay, so maybe she wasn't the most annoying vampire…but she was a hell of a lot weird.

The room suddenly fell silent when Damon entered to eat.

"Talking about me?" he joked, getting another plate before sitting down to eat.

"Actually, Anastasia was telling us some stories," Jeremy said, genuinely engrossed in what she had to say, "She's been _everywhere_." Anastasia smiled proudly.

"If you don't mind me asking," Elena said, "How did you meet Katherine?" Anastasia frowned a bit.

"I met her in 1492," Anastasia said, "In Europe. She was a vain, selfish girl, but knew how to have fun. Very sneaky and devious. I travel a lot, never staying in one place for more than a few months. We became friends and well, back then I was a bit selfish myself. She was the first real friend I had in so long – she reminded me a bit of myself – I didn't want to let her go. I told her what I was and asked is she would want me to change her and if she would want to travel with me. She practically _begged _me to turn her." Anastasia sighed heavily, folding her hands on the table.

"I was so foolish," she muttered, "When someone is turned into a vampire, their emotions and personality are multiplied by the hundreds. And for Katherine that included her vanity and selfishness. The little bit of humanity that she had fled the moment I turned her into a vampire. She-" Anastasia shut her eyes.

"I can't talk about it," she said, her voice wavering, "But she betrayed me. I thought she was my friend, but the Katherine I knew was gone the minute she changed. If I had known what she would become, I would have driven a stake through her heart then and there." She shook her head, her eyes flying open and a smile on her face.

"Enough of this morbid talk," she said, standing up, "Jeremy, would you mind helping me with the dishes?"

"Of course not," Jeremy said. They gathered the dishes while Elena and Stefan went upstairs to unpack her things and Damon went to his room.

"I'll wash, you dry," Anastasia said, tossing Jeremy a dishtowel. They worked in silence for a few minutes until she said, "Jeremy, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what?" Jeremy said.

"How did you get mixed up in all this?" she asked, "I mean, I understand how your sister did. It was inevitable, being the doppelganger of Katherine. But with you…I don't see the connection."

"Well, I found out snooping through Elena's diary actually," he said.

"Typical little brother move," Anastasia commented.

"Elena told me the whole story after Damon…killed me," Jeremy said, "But I've always been suspicious of it. I have a bad habit of falling in love with vampires." Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

"Really?" she said with a smirk, "Maybe, I'll get lucky," she teased, winking at him. Jeremy blushed, suddenly interested in drying a fork. Anastasia giggled.

"You know, I like you Jeremy," Anastasia said, "I can tell you have heart." She tapped his chest, leaving a big, wet, and soapy spot from where she had been washing the dishes.

"Oops," she giggled, "Sorry." Jeremy smiled at her.

"It's okay," he said, reaching over to the water and splashing it on her. Anastasia jumped, not expecting the bold move.

"Now we're even," he said with a smirk. Anastasia grinned a devious grin and splashed Jeremy, soaking him completely. Soon, the two of them were splashing water on each other, getting soaked with water and suds. The sound of their laughter and splashing attracted Stefan and Elena to the kitchen.

"What's going on in here?" Elena asked. Jeremy and Anastasia looked up, guilty looks on their faces.

"Ummm," Anastasia said, giggling madly. Damon came in to see what was going on, took one look at the scene, shook his head and went back upstairs.

"Maybe Stefan and I should do the dishes," Elena said.

"Good idea," Anastasia said. She glanced at Jeremy and they both cracked up laughing at the sight of each other covered in water and soap suds. Jeremy took one step, slipped and fell flat on his butt. Anastasia doubled over in laughter. Stefan chuckled and Elena did her best not to laugh, but was failing to do so.

"Come on clumsy," she said, grabbing Jeremy's hand and helping him up, "Geez, I'm in five inch heels and I can stay on my feet."

"You're also an ancient vampire with uncanny balance," he said. Anastasia held a hand to her heart in mock hurt.

"Ancient?" she said, feigning shock, "Jeremy you wound me." She turned her nose in the air and stomped out of the room with as much dignity as she could covered in water and soap suds. She turned at the staircase to flash a bright smile at Jeremy before dashing upstairs. Jeremy left and Stefan and Elena moved to finish what Anastasia and Jeremy had started. Stefan noticed the worry on Elena's face.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. Elena bit her bottom lip nervously.

"I don't know how I feel about dragging Jeremy into all of this," she said, "I mean, did you see him with Anastasia. It's been a while since I've seen him that happy but…Stefan, it never ends well for him."

"Anastasia is over 700 years older," he said, "Older than any vampire I've ever known. She didn't live that long off of luck, she knows how to protect herself." Elena let out a long sigh.

"I guess you're right," she said, "It's just…is it to hard for Jeremy to just fall in love with a human like a normal teenager boy?"

**There's chapter 5! Can someone give me an opinion on Anastasia? She's supposed to be a cheerful, kind of weird vampire whose emotions can change on the dime (ex: suddenly attacking Damon in chapter 2 and comforting him in this chapter). I just want to know if she seems natural. **** Anyways, I hope you like this chapter! Please** Review!


	6. The Goal

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 6! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries.**

Elena crawled into Stefan's bed, snuggling next to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him.

"So what do you think of Anastasia?" Stefan asked. Elena giggled at the thought of the energetic vampire.

"She's kind of weird," Elena said, "In a nice way. But Jeremy…" Stefan put a finger on her lips to silence her.

"He'll be fine," Stefan said, "It's rare for a vampire to live as long as she has, I have no doubt she has some tricks up her sleeve." Stefan replaced his finger with his lips. Elena smiled into the kiss, tugging on the front of Stefan's shirt until he was partially on top of her.

"Mmmm," Elena sighed, a smile on her face, "Nice distraction."

"Who said I was done?" Stefan asked. Elena caught sight of the playful glint in his green eyes before his lips were on hers once more.

* * *

Anastasia was up early the next morning. She was planning on telling everyone her idea for dealing with Katherine. She had to be stopped as soon as possible.

Anastasia hopped out of bed, getting dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, bright red ankle boots and a shimmery dark gray sweater paired with a dark red scarf tied around her neck and an oversized royal blue bag. She put on some silver eye shadow and red lipstick and brushed her hair.

She went to wake Jeremy first. She opened the door, smiling mischievously. Jeremy was sprawled on the bed. At vampire speed, Anastasia hopped onto the bed, hopping up and down like a child.

"Wake up! Wake up!" she said, giggling. Jeremy groaned, opening his eyes sleepily, a look of confusion on his face, but his lips turned up in a lopsided grin.

"What the hell…?" he chuckled. Anastasia made one last jump before landing on the bed, straddling Jeremy's waist.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully, noticing how red Jeremy's face had gotten.

"Ummm, good morning?" he said. Anastasia giggled and rolled off of him, standing beside his bed.

"Come downstairs to the living room when you're ready," she said. Jeremy laughed as he watched her bounce out of the room. She went to Damon's room next, which was across from Jeremy's. She creaked the door open. The room was dark, Damon still in bed. She tiptoed inside.

"Don't you dare jump on me," Damon mumbled, "I'm up." Anastasia frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"No fair," she said, "You sucked all the fun out of it." She turned on her heel.

"I guess I'll wake Stefan and Elena up," she said.

"Hey, it's my job to wake up those sickening lovebirds," Damon said, "It's the highlight of my day seeing the looks on their faces."

"Then you better hurry and get dressed," Anastasia sing-songed, leaving the room. She was barely halfway down the hall when Damon caught up with her, fully dressed. She slowly opened the door to Stefan's room. It was dark, except for a sliver of sunlight coming through the curtains. Elena was sleeping on top of Stefan's chest. The room smelled of the…activities…they had been doing last night.

"Oh this shall be fun," Anastasia said, nodding to the window. She and Damon quietly made their way toward the window and each grabbed a part of the curtain.

"One," Anastasia mouthed.

"Two," Damon mouthed. Together, they mouthed "three" and threw open the curtains. Bright sunlight flooded the room. Elena and Stefan flinched and groaned while Anastasia and Damon doubled over with laughter.

"Very mature guys," Elena said, struggling to pull up the comforter to cover her bare chest.

"Oh please, I'm over 700 years old, I've seen it all," Anastasia laughed, "But the look of shock never gets old." She and Damon shared a high-five.

"I think we may be witnessing a very scary alliance," Stefan whispered to Elena.

"Get dressed naked ones," Anastasia said, "Meeting in the living room." She and Damon left, still chuckling.

Jeremy was already downstairs lounging on the couch dozing off.

"Wake up!" Anastasia shouted, hoping over the back of the couch and landing next to Jeremy, who jerked awake.

"Sorry, an annoying little vampire woke me up at the crack of dawn," Jeremy said with a teasing grin before letting out a long yawn. Anastasia rolled her eyes, ruffling Jeremy's hair

"You look so cute with your bed head," she giggled. A few minutes later, Stefan and Elena came trudging in.

"Okay, everyone's here," Anastasia said, clapping her hands together as she stood up and went to stand in front of the fireplace, the light of it casting an eerie glow around her.

"So what exactly _do _you know about Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"She's clever," Anastasia said, her teasing town from the morning now gone and replaced with a tone of total seriousness.

"_Very _clever," she emphasized, "Katherine makes sure she always has multiple back up plans in case one fails. But she only has one goal. Take away the goal, and the plans are useless."

"What's her goal though?" Stefan asked.

"That's what we need to find out," Anastasia said, "Well, I'll find it out. It's more likely she'll listen to me. I am the one who created her after all. We just need to find her."

"She's definitely somewhere in Mystic Falls," Damon said, "There has to be a reason she came back."

"There's only two hotels here," Elena said.

"Well I know what I'm doing today," Anastasia said, slinging her bag over her shoulder, "Anyone gonna let me borrow their car?"

"I'll drive you," Jeremy offered.

"Like hell you are," Elena snapped, "I'm not letting you anywhere near Katherine."

"I'm as much a part of this as you are," Jeremy argued.

"You're not going," Elena insisted.

"You can't stop me," Jeremy snapped, standing up and storming out the house. Anastasia looked from Elena to Jeremy and back.

"I'll protect him," she reassured Elena, "I'll make sure he stays in the car. I'll even have him drop me off a block away from the hotel. Although I doubt Katherine will hurt him while I'm there. I am the reason she is what she is now." Anastasia gave Elena a small smile before catching up with Jeremy.

"Let's go human boy," she said cheerfully, linking her arm through his, "We got us a psycho-bitch vampire to hunt down."

**There's chapter 6! Sorry it was kinda short, but I wanted Anastasia and Katherine's confrontation to have its own chapter. I hope you liked this! Please Review!**


	7. Plans, Parties and Pool

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 7! Enjoy!**

_**PLEASE READ THIS:**_** Okay, I'm not sure whether or not Jeremy has his own car (he offered Bonnie a ride at the end of **_**Masquerade**_**, but I'm not sure if it was his own car or Jenna's. But for the sake of the story, let's pretend Jeremy has his own car ^-^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or the Mustang.**

"Good thing I asked Alaric to bring my car over yesterday," Jeremy said as they walked over to his black Mustang. He opened the passenger's side door for Anastasia.

"Such a gentleman," Anastasia said with a dazzling grin, "I guess chivalry isn't dead?" Jeremy just grinned and got into driver's side.

"So where to first?" Anastasia said, checking her reflection in the overhead mirror.

"There's two hotels," Jeremy said, "_Mystic Bed & Breakfast_ and _Mystic Hotel._ _Mystic Hotel _is closer."

"Let's go there first then," Anastasia said, shutting the mirror.

"So what are you planning to do when you see her?" Jeremy asked. Anastasia grinned a devilish grin.

"I'm like a mother to her Jeremy," she said, "Without me, she wouldn't be where she is now. She'll be like putty in my hands." Jeremy glanced at her skeptically.

"You doubt me?" Anastasia asked. Jeremy shrugged.

"It's just that…Katherine seems dangerous," he said, "I wouldn't want you to get…hurt or anything."

"Awww, you're worried," Anastasia cooed, pinching Jeremy's cheek. Jeremy jerked out of her grasp, but grinned.

"I'll be fine," she said. Jeremy stopped at the corner of the block.

"The hotel is that tall building at the end," he said. Anastasia nodded and got out of the car. She walked down the block, wondering whom she should ask for when she got there. She doubted Katherine would use her real name when checking in. She was smarter than that.

Anastasia had a plan already when she entered the hotel and walked up to the brunette receptionist.

"Excuse me," Anastasia said sweetly, "I'm looking for a friend of mine." Anastasia's eyes went wide and she fixed her eyes on the green one's of the receptionist, compelling her.

"Do you know who Elena Gilbert is?" Anastasia asked.

"Yes," the receptionist said in a dazed voice.

"Has anyone looking like her checked in here in the past few days?" Anastasia asked.

"No," the receptionist said. Anastasia gave her a sweet smile.

"Okay, thank you," she said, "And you're going to forget we ever had this conversation and that I even came in here, okay?"

"Okay," the receptionist said. Anastasia turned around, breaking her compulsion and walked away.

"She's not there," Anastasia said to Jeremy, getting back into the car. He drove the few blocks to _Mystic Bed & Breakfast_, once again stopping a block away.

"She must be there," Jeremy said, looking at the small, quaint hotel down the block. Anastasia nodded. Without a word, she got out of the car and walked to the hotel. She opened the front door to a comfy setting that reminded her of someone's grandmother. Behind a light wood desk sat an old woman.

"Hello," Anastasia said sweetly, compelling the old woman.

"Do you know who Elena Gilbert is?" Anastasia asked.

"Yes," the old woman said.

"Did anyone looking like her check in here?" Anastasia asked.

"Yes," the old woman said.

"Who?" Anastasia asked, her voice eager.

"A girl by the name Beatrice Finley," the old woman said.

"Which room is she in?" Anastasia asked.

"Upstairs," the old woman said, "To the left, the third door on the right." Anastasia smiled sweetly at the old woman.

"Thank you," she said, "And you're going to forget that we had this conversation and that I ever came in here, okay?"

"Okay," the old woman said. Anastasia broke her compulsion on the old woman and walked up the stairs. When she reached the door, she saw Katherine sitting with her back to her, holding up a dress to the mirror. Several other dresses were strewn on the bed. With vampire speed, Anastasia sped toward her. Katherine let out a small gasp and – at the last millisecond – spun around and caught Anastasia by the throat. Anastasia smirked.

"Good job," she said, "Your reflexes are much quicker than when I last saw you." Katherine grinned a devious grin and wrapped her arms around Anastasia.

"Nice to see you again Anastasia," she said as Anastasia hugged her back.

"You too," Anastasia said, pulling back slightly, "How's my favorite pupil?"

"Lovely," Katherine drawled, "Help me pick out a dress?"

"Of course," Anastasia said, sitting on the edge of the bed, "What are these for anyway?"

"The Lockwood Masquerade Ball," Katherine said.

"Still love parties I see," Anastasia said, "But doesn't your doppelganger live in this town? Elena." Katherine frowned.

"Oh don't look so surprised, I hear things Katherine. I've heard rumors that she looks just like her," Anastasia said, handing Katherine a short, dark pink dress, "When I came into town, I saw her. Had I not heard her heartbeat, I would have sworn she was you. Don't wear that dress, it looks it makes you look pasty."

"Everyone will be in masks," Katherine said, holding the dress in front of her and looking at the full length mirror, then throwing the dress on the bed and holding her hand out for another one, "As you can see, mine is already picked out." She nodded to a mask lying on the dresser. It was a full-face mask, all black with intricate, shimmery purple swirls, gold lashes and bright red lips.

"Smart," Anastasia said, nodding approvingly, "Here, try this lavender dress." Katherine took the dress and held it in front of her.

"Planning to see the Salvatore brothers there?" Anastasia asked. Katherine's eyes widened in surprise as she rejected the lavender dress, throwing it on the bed.

"Katherine, really? Surprised _again_? "Anastasia chuckled, "You know me, I'm nosy. I hear things when I travel. Including your little affair with the Salvatore brothers." Anastasia sighed dreamily, handing her a long, red dress.

"The thing of romance novels," Anastasia said wistfully, "I wish something half as exciting would happen to me."

"You never settle down," Katherine said, pursing her lips as she contemplated the red dress.

"It's not in my nature," Anastasia giggled, "I love to travel. See the world."

"You must have traveled around the world a hundred times already," Katherine teased.

"Seventy six," Anastasia corrected, "And that dress does not match your mask." Katherine threw the dress back onto the bed.

"But why go to a party where no one knows you?" Anastasia asked, "And with the risk of Elena being there." Katherine grinned.

"There's something I need to do," Katherine said. Anastasia clapped her hands eagerly.

"Oooh, a plan!" she squealed, "Do tell, do tell!" Katherine chuckled at her eagerness.

"Over tea," Katherine said, walking over to a teapot and pouring two cups. She sat across from Anastasia on the bed and handed her a cup. Anastasia sniffed the tea.

"Vervain," Anastasia said approvingly, "Good girl, you remembered my little tip."

"It was hell the first few months," Katherine said, "But well worth it. It's saved my life more than once."

"So this plan?" Anastasia asked, sipping her tea.

"I need something the Lockwoods have," Katherine said, "The moonstone." Anastasia's brow furrowed.

"I thought that was nothing but a legend," she said.

"It's real," Katherine said, "I had it back in 1864. But – due to extenuating circumstances – I had to give it to someone. Now I need it back. It wasn't mineto begin with." Anastasia nodded in understanding.

"You stole it," Anastasia said, "From a vampire I presume if they've been after you since 1864."

"I faked my death back then to throw them off, make them think I was gone," Katherine said, "But thanks to a certain Salvatore brother, they learned I was still alive." Anastasia rolled her eyes.

"Men," she mumbled under her breath, "So now you have to get the moonstone back and give it to them." Katherine nodded, taking a sip of her tea. Anastasia saw the anxiety in her eyes.

"I didn't think I'd every see you again," Katherine said softly, "After…" Anastasia waved a hand dismissively.

"That was hundreds of years ago," Anastasia said, "I'm over it Kat. I'm just here to help you." Anastasia tapped Katherine on the nose, "And talking about help, I think I see the perfect dress for you." Anastasia reached behind Katherine and picked up a long, black, mermaid style gown. It had a sweetheart neckline. The top was covered in gold sparkles that faded away around the waist.

"Try it on, try it on!" Anastasia said eagerly, bounding up and down on the bed. Katherine rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Even at 782 years old, you act like such a child," she said, taking the dress.

"And that's why you love me so," Anastasia said. Katherine changed into the dress and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Exquisite," Katherine said with a smirk.

"I told you," Anastasia said, "You know what, you've inspired me." Anastasia stood up.

"I think I'll go to this masquerade too," Anastasia said, picking up Katherine's mask and twirling it in her hands. She held it up in front of her own face and giggled.

"You know how I love parties," Anastasia giggled.

"How can I forget?" Katherine said, "Back in Europe, you dragged me to every one you could find."

"And you _loved_ it," Anastasia said, putting the mask down, "Well, if I'm going, I need a dress."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Katherine asked. Anastasia looked down at the bed where a pile of dresses laid.

"Coming from the girl who looks like she raided a dress store to find the perfect dress?" Anastasia said, "No thanks, I can work quicker by myself. I'll visit soon okay?" Katherine nodded. Anastasia left.

When she finally reached the car, Jeremy said, "What took you so long?"

"Catching up with an old friend," Anastasia said as Jeremy drove away from the hotel.

"She was there?" he asked. Anastasia nodded.

"I'll tell you the full details when we're back at the boarding house," Anastasia said, "Right now, I'm starving. Is there anywhere good here to eat?"

"Mystic Grill," Jeremy said.

"Lovely," Anastasia said, "I'm famished." Jeremy drove them to Mystic Grill.

When they entered, they chose a booth toward the back.

"Hey Jeremy," Matt said, walking over to them. His eyes landed on Anastasia.

"And…" Matt said. Anastasia held out a hand to him.

"Anastasia," Anastasia introduced. Matt shook her hand.

"I'm Matt," he said, looking back and forth between Jeremy and Anastasia, "Are you two…?" Anastasia giggled and looked at Jeremy.

"Jeremy, sweetie you didn't tell your friend about us?" she said with a sweet smile, taking Jeremy's hand in hers. Jeremy's face turned at least twenty shades of red. Anastasia burst out laughing.

"I'm kidding," she laughed, "No, we're not dating. I'm actually a friend of the Salvatore brothers. I'm just visiting. But Jeremy here was sweet enough to show me around town." Matt nodded.

"So what would you two like to eat?" he asked.

"Cheese fries and a Pepsi," Jeremy said.

"And I'll have," Anastasia scanned the menu, "Bacon cheese fries and a lemonade."

"Coming right up," Matt said, taking their menus and leaving. Anastasia looked at Jeremy, whose face had faded to a slight pink.

"I wish you could have seen your face," Anastasia giggled, "You turned shades of red I didn't even know existed." She dissolved into laughter once again. Jeremy grinned.

"Okay, it wasn't that funny," Jeremy said, chuckling. Anastasia wiped a tear from her eyes.

"Okay, okay," she breathed, "I'm good." She looked up at Jeremy…and started laughing again. It took her almost a full five minutes to calm down.

"Okay, seriously," she giggled, "I'm done." Matt came over with their food and Anastasia eagerly dug in.

"Mmmm," she moaned, "This is delish." Jeremy chuckled and her enthusiasm.

"So I have a question," Anastasia said, "I know we're protecting you, your sister and Jenna, but what about your parents? Unless they're like, away or something." Jeremy's face fell and Anastasia immediately knew she said something wrong. Her hands flew to her mouth.

"You don't have to answer is you don't want to," she said softly. Jeremy gave her a wry smile.

"No, it's okay," he said, "My parents are died."

"Oh," Anastasia said, instantly feeling horrible, "I-I'm so sorry." Then her brow furrowed.

"Hold on," she muttered, "You said 'my', not 'ours'…"

"Elena is adopted," Jeremy said, "Her real mother is a vampire and her dad was our uncle. Which technically makes her my cousin, but she's always going to be a sister to me. You could say we have one screwed up family tree." Anastasia's eyebrows shot up.

"Oh," she said, "You know, I'm going to stop asking questions before I make a further ass of myself. You talk." She stuffed a handful of fries on her mouth to stop herself from asking any more questions.

Jeremy mostly asked her about the different places and time periods she lived in. It seemed like Anastasia had been everywhere and lived through everything.

Anastasia's eyes wandered to the pool table.

"Teach me how to play?" she asked. Jeremy turned around to see what she was looking at, then looked back at her incredulously.

"You've never played pool?" he asked.

"Believe it or not, no," Anastasia admitted with a shrug.

"Come on," Jeremy said. They went to an empty pool table. Jeremy handed her one of the pool stick and got one for himself.

"Now you hold your hands like this," he said, bending down, "Pull back…and hit the white ball to make it hit another ball." Jeremy hit the white ball, which hit the others and they scattered. Anastasia nodded.

"Okay, I've got this," she said. She did just as Jeremy said…hit the ball…and it flew across the Grill into someone's nachos. Anastasia winced.

"Sorry!" she called to the person, and then turned to Jeremy.

"Guess I hit it a bit too hard," she giggled.

"Here, I'll help you," Jeremy said. He stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her so that he held her wrists in her hands.

"Like this," he said softly in her ear. He pulled her arm back and helped her hit white ball, which hit the red, which went into one of the pockets.

"We did it," she giggled, turning to look at Jeremy. But she hadn't noticed how close he was to her. Suddenly, She was hyper aware of his large hands on her small wrists, his warm body pressed against hers, his breath brushing against her face, his dark brown eyes looking into her own.

His lips were so close…if she leaned forward just the slightest bit, she could kiss him…

"Hey Jeremy!" said a voice as a hand clamped down onto his shoulder. Anastasia and Jeremy jumped and broke away from each other.

"Hey, Tyler," Jeremy said, trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"Anastasia, this is Tyler Lockwood," Jeremy said, "Tyler, this is Anastasia." Anastasia's expression flickered a bit at the name Lockwood before she let a smile take over her face.

"Nice to meet you," she said, shaking Tyler's hand.

"You too," Tyler said, "You Jeremy's girl?" Anastasia let out a small giggle at the memory of what happened earlier, glancing at Jeremy.

"No, I'm just a friend of the Salvatore brother's," she said, "But Jeremy here was sweet enough to give show me around town." Suddenly, Jeremy's phone started to ring.

"Hello?" he said.

"Where are you?" Anastasia heard Elena's frantic voice say over the phone with her super hearing, there was no way Tyler would have been able to hear her, "I've been sitting here worried Katherine has eaten you or something-"

"I'm fine," Jeremy said.

"Me too!" Anastasia piped.

"Anastasia got hungry so we stopped to get something to eat," Jeremy said, "We'll be back soon." Jeremy hung up.

"We should leave before my sister pops a brain vessel," Jeremy said.

"Let me just use the little girl's room," Anastasia said, walking toward the restroom. Tyler waited until Anastasia was in the bathroom before flicking Jeremy's head.

"Ow, what was that for," Jeremy asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Dude, how are you _not_ with that yet?" Tyler said, "She's gorgeous!"

"I just met her yesterday," Jeremy said.

"Do you like her?" Tyler asked. Jeremy's face turned red – albeit, not as red as before – but enough for Tyler to notice.

"You do!" he accused.

"Shhhh," Jeremy said, "Do you want the whole town to know?"

"Dude, you should tell her," Tyler said, "Trust me, a girl that fine isn't going to be single for long." Anastasia exited the bathroom and walked over to them.

"Remember what I said," Tyler said before walking away.

"Let's go before poor Elena has a heart attack," Anastasia said, hooking her arm through Jeremy's. They got back in the car and Jeremy started to drive back to the boarding house.

"So I heard you conversation with Tyler," she said. Jeremy's eyes widened in surprise.

"How…?" he asked. Anastasia giggled and tapped her ear.

"Vampire hearing," she said, "So…when are you going to ask me out?" Jeremy looked completely flustered, not sure of what to say. Anastasia giggled again.

"Okay, I'll do it for you," she said, "You. Me. This Saturday. Movie. Sound good?" Jeremy just nodded as they pulled up to the boarding house. Anastasia quickly leaned over and kissed his cheek before getting out the car. She was at the door to the boarding house when she noticed Jeremy wasn't behind her. She turned to see him still in the car, a look of shock on her face. She laughed.

"Jeremy, are you coming?" she asked. Jeremy blinked a few times, as if just realizing where he was, and got out the car, face flaming red once again.

**There's chapter 7! I really liked writing this once, it was fun writing the part with Katherine and Anastasia and Jeremy and Anastasia. I hope you liked this chapter! Please Review!**


	8. Caring

**Come on people. Over 100 hits on the last chapter and only 1 review -_- Please review, pretty please. It's just discouraging see so many hits and only one review, is there something wrong with the story? *****sigh* Here's chapter 8! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

Stefan, Damon and Elena were already gathered in the living room when Anastasia and Jeremy walked in.

"We're home!" Anastasia chimed.

"Did you find her?" Stefan asked as Jeremy and Anastasia took a seat on the couch.

"Yup," Anastasia said, popping the last syllable.

"And…?" Damon asked when she didn't elaborate.

"Believe it or not, Katherine is actually scared," Anastasia said, "Turns out that back in 1864, she faked her death-"

"We know that," Damon said, rolling his eyes.

"Let me finish," Anastasia snapped, "Like I was saying before I was so _rudely _interrupted," she threw a glare in Damon's direction, "She faked her death because someone was after her. And that someone still is. Turns out that Katherine stole the moonstone from this person, who wants it back. Apparently, the Lockwoods have the moonstone. Katherine plans on going to their Masquerade Ball to get it back. So guess where we're going!" Anastasia said eagerly.

"We need to be there," Stefan said.

"But not to help her," Anastasia said, "Katherine has hurt to many people and she needs to be stopped. And there's only one way to do that."

"Kill her," Damon said with a smirk, "It will be the night Katherine gets a stake driven through her heart." Anastasia nodded in agreement.

"But she's smart," Anastasia said, "Katherine always thinks ahead."

"Well then we need to be smarter than her," Stefan said.

"The ball is in a few weeks," Elena said.

"We'll be ready," Stefan assured her.

"Well step one is simple," Anastasia said, standing up, "Shopping! Can't go to a ball looking all drab now can we? And I want to go before all the good dresses are taken. Elena, care to join me?"

"Ummm, sure," Elena said, surprised at Anastasia's sudden outburst.

"Actually, can I talk to her first?" Damon said, walking over to Anastasia's side, "In private?"

"Okay," Anastasia said slowly. She followed Damon out of the house, onto the front porch. He closed the door behind them.

"What are you thinking?" Damon hissed, spinning around to face her. Anastasia raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"Unlike Stefan, who's weaker from drinking Bambi blood, I can hear just as well as you can," Damon said, "And I heard your date plans with Jeremy. Break them."

"Why?" Anastasia asked, suddenly defensive.

"Jeremy has already lost two girls he cared about, both vampires," Damon said, his tone softening slightly, but his expression still hard, "Don't make him go through that again."

"Are you implying that I'll die?" she asked, "I've lived over 700 years for a reason Damon. I know how to protect myself."

"This is Katherine we're talking about," Damon said, "Anything is possible." Anastasia pursed her lips.

"Elena doesn't want Jeremy mixed in with this anyway," Damon continued.

"He's already in deep Damon," Anastasia said, "There's no turning back for him now." For once, Damon had nothing to say. She was right. Jeremy was in to deep to turn back now.

"Just...don't break his heart, okay?" Damon said, "The kid's been through enough."

"Awww, you care!" Anastasia squealed, pinching his cheek. Damon jerked away from her touch, frowning.

"Wait until they hear this!" Anastasia squealed, running back into the house. Damon sped in after her. He grabbed her by the waist and threw her over his shoulder. Elena, Stefan and Jeremy turned around at the sound of them running in.

"What's going on?" Elena asked.

"I have an annoying little vampire to kill," Damon said with a smirk. He turned around, walking away.

"Toodles!" Anastasia said cheerfully, waggling her fingers at them. Damon took her upstairs and set her down on her bed.

"Awww, ride's over," Anastasia said with a pout, crossing her arms over her chest like a child. Damon just rolled his eyes and started to walk out of her room.

"Why don't you want them to know you care?" Anastasia asked, all teasing gone from her voice. Damon stopped. He took a deep breath, closed the door and turned to face her.

"Why?" Anastasia asked. Damon grabbed a chair and straddled it, running a hand through his hair.

"That's not me, okay?" he said, "That's Stefan's job. He's the caring, good brother."

"And you're the insensitive jackass," Anastasia said. Damon let out a dark chuckle.

"Basically," he said.

"But you do care," she said, "Especially about Elena." Damon's eyes widened at her statement.

"I see how you look at her," Anastasia said wistfully, "Such love in your eyes. Not even I have seen that look often." Damon shook his head.

"Look, she's with Stefan so, forget it," Damon said, standing up.

"She loves you too," Anastasia said, "The look in your eyes when you look at her is also in her eyes when she looks at you. She's just denying her feelings. And it doesn't help that you killed her brother…"

"Are you trying to comfort me?" Damon asked, "Because if so, you suck at it."

"Let me talk to her when we go shopping," Anastasia said, winking at him, "I'll put in a good word for you." Damon shook his head.

"It won't work," he said with a cold laugh.

"Why?" Anastasia asked.

"Stefan," Damon spat, saying his younger brother's name as if it was a curse, "It's always Stefan." He let out a humorless laugh, "Both of them said that to me, not even an hour apart." Anastasia's face softened.

"Oh my," she whispered, "Damon, I'm-"

"Don't say sorry," Damon said, "Okay, just drop it."

"But wait!" Anastasia said as Damon turned to leave. He let out a long sigh and turned to face her.

"What?" he snapped.

"Elena and Katherine may look alike, but they don't act alike, right?" she asked.

"They're total opposites," Damon said, "Where are you going with this?"

"If they're total opposites," she said, "It's possible that their choices will be too. The love in Elena's eyes when she looks at you…it's not there when she looks at Stefan. She may _think _she loves him, but she doesn't truly _love _him." Anastasia walked over to Damon and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Damon tensed, surprised by her action.

"It'll be okay Damon," she said softly, "I promise." Damon awkwardly patted her head and she immediately frowned.

"Okay, this is the worse hug _ever_," she said, "I'm a person, not a puppy. You're supposed to hug back." Damon rolled his eyes, but wrapped his arms around her in a slightly awkward hug.

"Much better," she giggled and then broke away from him.

"Well, time to go be you're wingman…woman…vampire," Anastasia said, opening the door and bouncing downstairs chiming out, "Elena, are you ready to go shopping?"

**There's chapter 8! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	9. A Part of the Past

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 9! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

"Stefan, I'm coming!" Elena snapped. Anastasia paused at the bottom of the stairs as she heard their voices.

"No your not," Stefan said, his voice quiet, but tense, "Elena, you need to stay somewhere safe."

"Nowhere safe Stefan!" Elena shouted, "She can come in here and snap my neck if she wanted too!" Stefan let out a breath through gritted teeth.

"Elena, be reasonable," he said softly.

"You're not being reasonable!" Elena snapped, "Katherine has messed with my family and you expect me just to wait around and let the people I love put themselves in danger?" Anastasia cleared her throat softly, guessing that she better stop this lover's spat before stuff start flying – Elena was awfully close to the wine cart.

"Elena, are you ready?" she asked softly. Elena nodded, turning on her heel and storming out the door. Anastasia just shrugged at Stefan and followed her out. Elena was already in her car, fuming mad, when Anastasia got there and open the driver's side door.

"You're too angry to drive," she said, "Out, I'll do it." Elena rolled her eyes, but willingly got out, gave the keys to Anastasia and got into the passenger's side.

"So where's the best place to go dress shopping here?" Anastasia asked as she pulled onto the rode.

"_Miss Mystic's Boutique_," Elena answered, staring out the window. Anastasia nodded.

"Aren't you worried Katherine might see you with me?" Elena asked after a while, "What will she think?"

"I doubt she leaves unless she really has to," she said, "The risk of running into you is to great." Elena nodded. The ride was silent until they reached the boutique.

"Oooh, how cute," Anastasia said, her dark brown eyes lighting up. She looped her arms through Elena's and they walked in. There were a few girls wandering around and Anastasia's face looked like a girl in a candy shop.

"Do you need any help?" asked a kind, blonde lady that worked there.

"No thank you," Anastasia said sweetly. She steered Elena over to a rack of dresses and immediately started shifting through them. Elena half-heartedly looked through the dresses.

"Come on Elena," Anastasia said, then lowered her voice, "Stefan is just worried, okay? He doesn't want you to get hurt." Elena let out a long sigh.

"I know," she said. Anastasia bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Can I ask you a question?" Anastasia said, draping a dress over her arm to take into the dressing room.

"Um, sure," Elena said, looking over a green dress.

"What made you chose Stefan over Damon?" Anastasia asked casually. Elena let out another sigh.

"It was simple," she said, "Stefan was sweet and caring. Damon was…" Elena furrowed her brow as she remembered, "Different. He only cared about himself. He was determined to reach his goal and willing to kill anyone in his way."

"Was?" Anastasia asked, "As in, past tense." Elena's brows knit together.

"Yeah," she said slowly, as if just realizing it.

"So now he's…?" Anastasia asked. Elena let out a chuckle, choosing two dresses to try on.

"A bit like Stefan," she said, giggling at the thought, "Just darker, and more cynical."

"And hotter," Anastasia mumbled. Elena looked up at her with wide eyes, but Anastasia noticed the blush that rose to her cheeks.

"What?" Anastasia said innocently, "Just voicing my opinion. He's got those crystal blue eyes." she said dreamily. Elena laughed.

"Are you sure you're not falling for him?" Elena teased.

"Actually," Anastasia said, walking past her to another rack of dresses, picking out two more, "I already have a date this Saturday."

"With who?" Elena asked, walking over to her.

"Jeremy," Anastasia mumbled, then closed her eyes tight and squeaked, "Please don't stake me. I've lived to long to die in a boutique." Elena stared at Anastasia for a moment, not sure what to say.

"I know how you don't like Jeremy mixed in with this," Anastasia said, opening her eyes again, "But I heard him talking with Tyler and he said he liked me and…" for the first time, Elena saw sadness take over Anastasia's face. She collapsed in one of the chairs against the wall, her face in her hands, her hair covering her like a curtain.

"Anastasia, what's wrong?" Elena asked. Anastasia lifted her head slightly and Elena saw tears shimmering as they slid down her cheeks.

"I've lived for over 700 years," Anastasia said sadly, "I've learned so much…except love. It's something I've never been able to grasp. Only once…but Katherine," Anastasia's eyes turned red, the veins around her eyes rising and her fangs protruding.

"Anastasia, calm down," Elena said, taking one of Anastasia's hands in both her own. Anastasia took a deep breath and her face returned to normal.

"I loved once," Anastasia said, "Well, maybe not love. I only knew him a short time, but we had a connection Elena. And she killed him. She killed Elena. She killed Harper." Tears streamed down her face by now. Elena noticed they were getting odd looks from a few shoppers, but didn't care. She vaguely remembered Harper. The dark skinned, kind boy that she and Damon had freed when they went to save Stefan. He was gone now, along with the rest of the tomb vampires.

"He was in the church," Anastasia sobbed, "With the other vampires. I watched them drag him in, there was nothing I could do to save him. Elena, I watched him die." Elena wrapped her arms around Anastasia and let her sob into her shoulder. The blonde woman from earlier came over with a box of tissues. Elena silently thanked her and gave Anastasia one.

"I swore when I found her again," Anastasia said, her normally kind voice now ice cold, "I swore she would pay." Anastasia took a tissue and wiped at her eyes.

"I feel that connection with Jeremy," Anastasia admitted, "But it feels..._stronger_. Like something more."

"Sorry, I'm burdening you with old stories when we're supposed to be having fun," Anastasia said with a slight giggle.

"No, it's okay," Elena said, rubbing her shoulder soothingly. Anastasia nodded, dabbing at her eyes.

"Well, we really should try these on," Anastasia said with a small smile. Elena smiled at her and nodded, following Anastasia into the dressing rooms.

"Done!" Anastasia said cheerfully after barely being in the dressing room for a minute, "How do I look?" Elena poked her head out of her own dressing room. Anastasia had on a strapless dress that was black from the waist up, but had a tutu pink bottom.

"Like a pixie gone wrong," Elena giggled. Anastasia frowned at her reflection.

"True," she murmured, "And it's not very 'ball' like." Elena was done next and stepped out in a blue ball gown.

"Love the color," Anastasia said, "But you may want to steer clear of ball gowns, you look too much like Katherine." Anastasia let out a little shudder before disappearing back into her dressing room. It only took Anastasia two more tries before finding the perfect.

"Oh! Oh! Elena this is it!" she squealed. Elena stepped out in a gown herself. Anastasia had on a strapless royal blue dress with a sweetheart neckline. The bodice and trim of the skirt were decorated with elaborate silver vines and flowers. The entire skirt had a shimmer to it.

"You look gorgeous!" Elena exclaimed. Anastasia turned to look at her and gasped.

"How does it look?" Elena asked self-consciously. She had on an off the shoulder, trumpet style, emerald gown. The sleeves had gold vine embroidery and the skirt was trimmed with sheer gold.

"Stunning!" Anastasia squealed, jumping up and down. Elena chuckled at her enthusiasm. They changed back into their regular clothes. Anastasia also chose a pair of shoes to go with her gown. Boot actually. Knee high, white, pointed lace up boots with black laces and heels at least four inches tall.

They walked over to where masks were displayed, just for the occasion of the masquerade, and had fun fooling around before finally picking masks. Elena went with a black and dark green butterfly mask while Anastasia chose a metal mask that was an elegant tangle of gold and silver vines, leaves and flowers.

The drive back to the boarding house was much better than the drive to the boutique. Elena and Anastasia made comfortable small talk until reaching the boarding house.

"I'm going to put this stuff in my room," Anastasia said, walking up the stairs. On the way, she stopped by Damon's room and walked in.

"Don't you ever knock?' Damon asked from his seat in an armchair, where he had been reading a book.

"I have good news and bad news," she said. Damon rolled his eyes.

"Give me the good news first," he said.

"Elena seems to have taken a liking to you," Anastasia said, cheerfully, "I really got her thinking when we went shopping."

"And the bad news?" Damon asked. Anastasia giggled in anticipation.

"She thinks you're like Stefan," she laughed even harder at the look on his face.

"Well, she did say in a darker, more cynical way if that makes you feel any better," she giggled.

"Oodles," Damon deadpanned.

"But seriously, she likes this you," she said, "In opposition to the one who happened to murder anyone who got in the way of hi goal. I'd dare say she sees the little bit of humanity in you." Anastasia nodded in the direction of Elena's room.

"She's in a good mood," Anastasia said, "Go talk to her. But do one thing first."

"What?" Damon asked, already standing up. Anastasia backed away into the doorway and said, "Apologize for killing her brother," Before walking to her own room.

**There's chapter 9! I hope you liked it! For Anastasia's boots, just imagine the boots Alice wore in Tim Burton's _Alice in Wonderland _(I loved those boots and I wanted to give Anastasia something different from the regular heels. Plus I would wear those boots with a gown if I got the chance, they were super cute :D) Please Review!**


	10. Love

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 10! Enjoy!**

_**PLEASE READ THIS:**_ **I just wanted to clear some things up about this. I thought of this fanfic before the season 2 premiere (but was working on 2 or 3 other fanfics at the time and had no time to write this one) so things like Katherine becoming a vampire and the Tyler being a werewolf thing (well, I'm still on the fence about what to do with that) and Mason will not be in this story since they would interfere with the plot I have in mind. I will – as you have already read – incorporate the moonstone in here and the fact that Katherine is running from someone.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

Damon hesitated in front of the door to Elena's room. For the first time in a long time, he actually felt…nervous.

He knocked on the door and Elena's voice chimed "Come in," a few seconds later. Damon walked it slowly. Elena was closing her closet door and turned to face him.

"Oh, hi Damon," she said, "Do you need something?" Damon took a deep breath. It was now or never.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. Elena raised an eyebrow as she sat on her bed.

"What?" she said, more in shock over the fact that Damon Salvatore was apologizing than the fact that she had no idea what he was apologizing over.

"I'm sorry," Damon repeated, "For…you know…killing Jeremy." Elena's face flickered at the memory.

"Oh," she said, "I've actually been thinking about that lately. You weren't yourself that night. I can't even fathom how you must have been feeling about what Katherine and I said…you spent over a hundred years loving her and she rejected you, and I-"

"That's no excuse for what I did," he said. Elena bit her bottom lip nervously and nodded slowly.

"Apology accepted," Elena said softly. Damon let a small smile cross his face.

"Yay!" said Anastasia's voice from the other side of the door. Damon opened the door to see her standing there, clapping her hands. She giggled at being caught and ran off.

"She is so freaking _weird_," Damon muttered.

"But she means well," Elena said, "She's been around."

"You two bond over shopping?" Damon teased.

"Actually yes," Elena said, "She's…not as happy as she always seems. Katherine really hurt her in 1864." Damon nodded, glancing the direction Anastasia had bounced off in.

"So ummm, I guess I'll go…now," he said, flashing a smirk in Elena's direction before leaving. Elena felt a smile tug at the edge of her lips before she turned to look at open her closet door and look at her dress again.

And suddenly her mind painted a picture before her eyes. Instead of her and Stefan dancing at the masquerade, like she anticipated, it was she and Damon. She remembered so clearly the feeling of his arms around her when they danced at the Miss Mystic Falls pageant. How her heart had raced, butterflies filled her stomach and she was unable to tear her eyes away from his.

Elena closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to shake the vision from her mind.

"So did you tell him?" Anastasia's voice piped in her ear. Elena's eyes flew open and she jumped, letting out a little yelp as she spun around. Anastasia was looking at her with wide, brown eyes, a bright smile on her face.

"W-What?" Elena stammered, taking a step back so that she and Anastasia weren't nose to nose. Anastasia pursed her lips and her eyes examined Elena's face.

"Did you tell Damon you love him?" she asked. Elena's eyebrows shot up.

"W-Why would I say that?" she stuttered, going to sit on her bed. Anastasia sat next to her, sitting Indian style on Elena's bed.

"Because you do," Anastasia said, tilting her head to one side as she looked at Elena with those wide dark brown eyes that seemed to stare into her soul, her long, wavy black hair skimming the dark red comforter, "You don't want to admit it to yourself, but you do. It's only a matter of _when_ you want to tell him." Elena stared at the odd vampire who was voicing everything Elena tried so hard to keep hidden. Yes she had feelings for Damon and was quite possibly in love with him. But she loved Stefan to and didn't want to hurt him.

"If Stefan really loves you, he'll understand," Anastasia said. And with that statement, she hopped off Elena's bed.

"Dinner will be done in about an hour," she said as she left. Elena sat on her bed, Anastasia's words ringing in her ears.

_If Stefan really loves you, he'll understand_.

**There's chapter 10! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	11. Weird

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 11! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries or Paranormal Activity 2.**

It was early Saturday morning and Anastasia's room was an absolute mess. Clothes were strewn over chairs and the bed. Anastasia sat Indian style in the middle of her bed, staring at the mess, dressed in nothing but a pair of lacy red bra and panties.

"Anastasia, are you ready?" Anastasia shrieked and grabbed a robe to cover herself as Jeremy came through the door. He stared, wide-eyes, getting a glimpse of Anastasia's clothing – or lack of – before she wrapped a silk blue robe over herself.

"Out," she said, rushing at him at vampire speed, pushing him out the door, "And tell your sister to come in here." Jeremy stood in front of her door for a few seconds, stunned by what he had just seen. But stunned in a good way. Anastasia's body was…wow.

Elena passed by him, noticing the dazed look on his face.

"Jeremy, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Anastasia wants to see you," Jeremy muttered, "Tell her I'm gonna take a cold shower." He walked off and Elena stared after him for a while, confused, before going into Anastasia's room. Anastasia was still in her lacy red underwear, staring at the pile of clothes.

"Help!" Anastasia pleaded, "I don't know what to wear on my date with Jeremy."

"Did he just walk in on you?" Elena said, noticing Anastasia's lack of clothing.

"Yeah," Anastasia said, "Ugh, it was so embarrassing. But really, _what do I wear?_"

"Okay, calm down," Elena said, "I'll help." After almost an hour of shifting through clothes, Elena helped Anastasia pick a hot pink corset style top tied with black lace and had sheer white sleeves, dark skinny jeans with white ankle boots. Elena braided Anastasia's long hair in a loose braid over her shoulder. Anastasia put on some make-up – black eye shadow and a sheer lip gloss.

"Okay, how do I look?" she asked Elena nervously.

"Stunning," Elena said with a smile. Anastasia smiled nervously, holding her stomach.

"Then why do I feel so sick?" she asked, "My stomach feels like its doing flip-flops."

"It's just butterflies," Elena said, putting her hands on Anastasia's shoulders.

"What if he doesn't like me?" Anastasia said, "I know I can be…weird. What if he thinks I'm too weird? What if he doesn't like weird?"

"Anastasia, calm down," Elena said, "Breathe." Anastasia took a deep breath.

"It's going to be okay," Elena said softly, "I can tell Jeremy really likes you. Weirdness and all." Anastasia gave her a small smile.

"Okay," Anastasia said, "I can do this." She grabbed a silver purse, slung it over her shoulder and marched out of the room to Jeremy's room.

"Jeremy?" she chimed, opening the door to his room…and stopped dead in her tracks. Because no less that a few feet from her stood Jeremy in nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, his hair dripping wet, the droplets traveling down his chest and disappearing into the towel. Anastasia had a sudden urge to be a water droplet.

"Ummm, sorry," she giggled, "I'll be downstairs when you're ready." She turned to leave, but called over her shoulder, "By the way, we're even!"

Anastasia bounced downstairs. Damon was sitting in the living room, a glad of whiskey in his hand.

"Thanks, I need this," she said, snatching the glass from his hand and downing it, "My nerves are going nuts." Anastasia downed the whiskey and placed the glass on the coffee table.

"You're welcome," Damon said sarcastically, pouring himself another glass.

"Barges into my house," he muttered under his breath, "Drinks my whiskey…"

"I can hear you," Anastasia sung. Damon rolled his eyes, but noticed how her foot kept tapping against the dark wood floor and poured her another glass.

"Nervous about your date?" he teased, handing it to her and Anastasia downed it again.

"Of course," she said, "It's been hundreds of years since I felt like this. I need another drink."

"Nope," Damon said, "No need to have you all tipsy on your date."

"Who has a date?" Stefan asked, walking.

"Anastasia is going out on a date with Jeremy," Damon said with a teasing smirk.

"Nervous?" Stefan asked, sitting on the arm of the chair Anastasia was sitting on.

"Will everyone stop asking me that?" Anastasia said hysterically. Stefan flinched at her sudden outburst, and then patted her shoulder.

"Brace yourself, here comes Romeo," Damon drawled. Jeremy came downstairs and smiled at Anastasia.

"Ready?" he asked. Anastasia smiled nervously and nodded. Elena came downstairs as the two of them walked out the door.

"So what movie do you want to see?" Jeremy asked as he drove to the theatre. Anastasia thought for a moment.

"_Paranormal Activity 2_?" she asked.

"You won't be scared?" Jeremy asked. Anastasia laughed.

"I'm over 700 years old, I've seen worse," she said. Jeremy just shrugged.

"Okay," he said.

"You don't believe me?" Anastasia questioned. Jeremy just shrugged.

"Maybe," he mumbled.

"What about you?" Anastasia teased.

"I've been dealing with vampires for the past month, a little ghost story won't scare me," Jeremy reassured her. They pulled into the movie theatre. Jeremy had bought the tickets and popcorn and they got to the theatre just as the movie started.

Despite her claim, there was a point where Anastasia screamed and buried her head into Jeremy's chest. He wrapped an arm around her.

"I thought you weren't going to be scared," he teased.

"Me too," Anastasia squeaked. He rubbed her arm soothingly. She eventually relaxed, looking back at the screen, but didn't move Jeremy's arm from around her. Slowly, Jeremy laced his fingers through hers. Anastasia didn't pull away and tightened her grip on his hand.

They walked out of the movie, talking animatedly about it, their hands still laced together.

"Where to now?" Jeremy asked.

"Can we go get something to eat at the grill?" Anastasia asked. Jeremy grinned at her.

'Of course," he said.

* * *

At the grill, they shared a plate of bacon-cheese fries (they were quickly becoming Anastasia's favorite) and talking.

"So how is this date going in your opinion?" Jeremy asked.

"Wonderful," Anastasia giggled, "It's been a while since I've…been like this with a guy. A couple of hundred years in fact."

"Seriously?" Jeremy asked.

"You sound surprised," Anastasia observed.

"It's just…your gorgeous," Jeremy said, blushing slightly, "I would think you would have guys falling all over you."

"I never said I didn't," Anastasia said with a small smile, staring at Jeremy, "It just…took me a while to find the right guy."

"A couple hundred years?" Jeremy joked. Anastasia laughed.

"It was worth it," she chuckled.

* * *

Jeremy and Anastasia spent most of their day at the park after that, just talking (and holding hands). They were now walking alongside a small creek. Jeremy watched intently as Anastasia stepped alongside him on the stones in the creek.

"Don't fall," he said, holding an arm out slightly to catch her if she tripped.

"I'm fine," she chirped, hopping easily – in almost five inch heels, which amazed Jeremy. He stared at her for a long time and after a few moments, Anastasia looked up at him.

"Yes?" she asked.

"It's just…you're so…" he said.

"Weird, I know," Anastasia said, looking down at the running water.

"But in a good way," Jeremy said, "You're different from most girls."

"I always have been," Anastasia said, "I've never really fit the norm."

"I like that," Jeremy said. Anastasia looked up at him and smiled shyly.

"People usually stay away from me because of it," she said, a hint of sadness in her voice, stopping on a large stone and staring at her reflection in the water.

"I've never fit really fit in," she said, "I've never felt like I…belong anywhere. Like I'm destined to wander the world, searching hopelessly for somewhere to belong." Jeremy carefully stepped next to her on the stone. He gently took her hand in his own.

"You can belong here," he said softly. Anastasia looked up at him, eyes wide. He felt her hand tremble slightly in his own.

"Jeremy, I'm scared," she whispered. Jeremy's brow furrowed.

"Of what?" he asked softly. Anastasia let out a long sigh.

"Last time I felt like this about someone," she said quietly, "He ended up dying. I don't want to lose you too.' Jeremy gently cupped her cheek with his free his hand, turning her face toward him. He noticed a solitary tear fall down her cheek and wiped it away with his thumb.

"I'm right here Anastasia," he whispered, pressing his forehead against hers, "I'm right here." Anastasia closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of his warm body so close to hers, his hand soft on her cheek.

"Jeremy," Anastasia whispered. She opened her eyes slowly and her eyes snapped onto his.

"Kiss me?" Anastasia whispered, the statement coming out more life a question. Slowly, Jeremy leaned forward and his lips touched hers with the softness, hesitance, and innocence of a first kiss.

**There's chapter 11! I really liked writing the end scene with Jeremy and Anastasia at the park! I hope you liked this! Please Review!**


	12. The Warning

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 12! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

Jeremy and Anastasia returned to the boarding house later that day, Jeremy with his arm slung across Anastasia's shoulders, their hand intertwined. Bonnie and Elena were on couch, the Grimoire open on the coffee table in front of them.

"Oh, hello," Anastasia said cheerfully as she spotted Bonnie, walking over to them, "I don't believe we've met before."

"Bonnie, this is the vampire I was telling you about, Anastasia," Elena said, "Anastasia, this is my best friend Bonnie Bennett."

"Nice to meet you," Anastasia said, shaking Bonnie's hand. Bonnie smiled at her, but her eyes widened the minute Anastasia's hand touched hers.

"Wow," Bonnie said, blinking a few times after the vision she got from touching Anastasia's hand, "You've…been through a lot."

"A Bennett witch I presume," Anastasia said eyeing the Grimoire. Bonnie nodded.

"We're trying to find any spells that might help going up against Katherine," Elena said, "How was your date?"

"You two are dating?" Bonnie asked.

"Just one so far," Anastasia giggled. Jeremy grinned, pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Ugh teen love," Damon groaned as he strolled in, "Just the thought makes me...twitchy."

"Well get used to it," Anastasia said with a grin. Damon just rolled his eyes.

"Did you two find anything out yet?" Damon asked, sitting on the arm of the couch, next to Elena.

"If you can get Katherine in a room, I can seal her in there," Bonnie said, "Like the tomb spell."

"Can you do that by yourself?" Elena asked.

"This will be on a much smaller scale than the tomb," she said, "It should be simple."

"Will it hold?" Damon said, leaning to get a closer look at the Grimoire. Anastasia noticed just how close he was to Elena, not quite touching but only an inch or so apart, and how Elena didn't shy away.

"It should," she said.

"We can't have 'should' in this," Damon said, "This is Katherine we're talking about. If even one thing goes wrong, we're screwed."

"It'll work," Bonnie said firmly.

"Anastasia, do you mind visiting Katherine again?" Stefan asked, walking in, "Maybe you can get some more information out of her."

"Sure, I'll go now before it's late," Anastasia said, "Drive me Jeremy?" Jeremy nodded and the two of them left.

* * *

Once again, Jeremy parked a block away and Anastasia entered the hotel. She knocked on Katherine's door.

"Come in," Katherine's voice called from the other side. Anastasia entered, noticing the room was empty.

"I'm in the bathroom," Katherine said, "I'll be out in a second." Anastasia closed the door behind her…and suddenly a sharp stabbing pain shot through her chest, right under her heart. Anastasia's gaze focused on Katherine standing in front of her, holding a stake through her chest, pinning her to the door.

"Now, now Anastasia," Katherine said with a smirk, "I can't believe how foolish you were. Going out with that Gilbert boy in broad daylight?" Anastasia's eyes widened in horror.

"I have eyes and ears _everywhere_ in this town," Katherine said, "I also know that your little boy toy is currently sitting in a black Mustang a block away from here."

"Don't hurt him," Anastasia said, tears in her eyes, not from the pain but the thought of losing Jeremy.

"I won't," Katherine said, "I want you to deliver a message. To the Salvatore brothers and anyone working with them. No doubt my doppelganger and that little witch is in on it too."

"Tell them to stop whatever their planning," Katherine said, her dark brown eyes blazing, "I know they're trying to kill me. Tell them if they don't stop I will kill and kill and I won't stop until the streets run red with blood." Katherine pulled the stake out of Anastasia's chest. Anastasia felt the warm blood seep pour from the wound.

"Now leave before you stain the carpet," Katherine snapped. As quickly as she could, she left the room, pressing a hand to the wound. She practically ran down the block before the blood could start seeping through her clothes. She finally stumbled into the car. Jeremy looked at her in horror, seeing the blood starting to seep through her clothes.

"Drive," Anastasia said breathlessly. Jeremy did as she said, but a few miles away from the boarding house, on the forest road, and turned to Anastasia.

"What happened?" he asked. Anastasia had already healed, but blood stained her clothes and hands and her eyes were wide with horror.

"She knows," Anastasia said, tears shimmering in her eyes, "She knows I'm working with you and Elena and Stefan and Damon. She knows they're planning to kill her. She has spies in this town." Her dark brown eyes looked straight ahead in shock. Jeremy took her face in is hands turning her face toward his.

"Anastasia, look at me," he said. Her eyes focused on his face.

"She won't stop," she whispered, "Jeremy, she won't stop. She's worse than I remember, I had no idea she had gotten so bad." Tears started to fall from her cheeks.

"There's no humanity left in her at all," she said, her voice chocked with tears, "Her eyes...they were so scary." She took in a shaky breath.

"Just drive," she said, wiping frantically at her eyes. Jeremy drove the last few miles to the boarding house.

"Stefan, Damon, Elena, Bonnie!" she called out when they entered the house. Jeremy steered her to the couch and they sat down. He took her hand in his, noticing how much she was shaking. Elena and Bonnie came down from the stairs and Stefan and Elena sped in.

"What happened?" Elena said, seeing the blood on Anastasia's clothes and the horror in her eyes.

"She knows," Anastasia said, her voice grave, "Katherine has had spies around town. She knows I'm working with you guys. And she wants me to send you guys a message."

"What is it?" Stefan asked, sitting on the coffee table across from her. Anastasia looked up through her curtain of her, her eyes traveling over everyone in the room.

"She said stop," Anastasia said, "Stop trying to kill her. Or else she will kill and kill and she won't stop until the streets run red with blood."

**So there's chapter 12! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	13. Worries

**Darn it…writer's block is catching up with me…I can feel it :( *****sigh* Oh well, here's chapter 13! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do now own The Vampire Diaries.**

Damon left for a few minutes, coming back with a cup of blood to calm Anastasia's nerves. She was still shaking, Jeremy's arm tight around her.

"Thank you," she murmured, taking the glass. She sipped at the blood.

"What do we do?" Jeremy asked.

"We do what we planned," Damon said, "We kill her."

"We can't she'll find out and go on a killing spree," Stefan said, "We have to come up with another idea."

"I think Damon's right," Elena said. Every eye in the room turned on her in surprise.

"This is Katherine we're talking about," Elena said, "As long as she is alive, this town is in danger 24/7. The only way to end all this is to kill her."

"You're actually agreeing with me?" Damon asked in surprise. Elena turned to face him, her face slightly crinkled with her own surprise.

"Yeah…I guess so," she said.

"I'm with Elena and Damon," Bonnie piped up, "Katherine is a danger that needs to be stopped."

"Well then full steam ahead," Damon said with a smirk.

* * *

The next few days were tense, everyone's nerves on end. They were careful not to leave the boarding house unless absolutely necessary and Anastasia didn't leave at all. They didn't want to give Katherine an excuse to attack and Anastasia was frightened what Katherine would do to Jeremy if she saw Anastasia out with him again. Both Stefan and Damon feared for Elena's safety and one or the other or Anastasia were with her at all times since they suspected she would be Katherine's primary target.

Jeremy was asleep one night, only a few days before the masquerade. He heard an incessant tapping coming quite loudly from Anastasia's room. He got up and walked out into the hall to Anastasia's room, knocking on the door.

"Come in," her voice chimed from the other side. Jeremy opened the door to find Anastasia lying face up on her bed, her fingers tapping on the cover of a thick, hardcover book she was reading, dressed in a silky, ice blue nightgown.

"Hi," she said softly. Jeremy noticed her bubbly tone was gone.

"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked, closing the door behind him and walking over to sit next to her. Anastasia closed her book, her fingers still tapping nervously on the cover.

"Yeah," Anastasia said a bit to quickly, "No actually. I just…my mind won't stop jumping to the worse case scenario with all this. Katherine could kill us so easily if she wanted too." Her voice was quickly rising hysterically, "She can come in here at any moment and we wouldn't be able to do anything about it." Her fingers were tapping on the book so fast they were nothing but a blur. "She's powerful, more powerful than I expected her to be. What if she decides to kill anyway? What if she finds out we're still planning this?" Jeremy took her the hand that was tapping on the book in his own. Anastasia looked up at him, eyes frantic.

"Anastasia, it's going to be okay," he whispered, cupping her cheek with his free hand.

"How do you know?" Anastasia asked softly. Jeremy stared into her eyes for a while, then sighed.

"I don't," he admitted, "But we have to try, right?" Anastasia hesitated, and then nodded slowly. She let out a slow, shaky sigh.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" she asked, "Please." For a 782 year old vampire, the fear in Anastasia's eyes was equivalent to that of a small child. There was no way Jeremy could refuse her request.

"Of course," he said softly. Anastasia laid down and Jeremy got under the covers, wrapping an arm securely around Anastasia's waist and holding her close to him. They laid face to face, staring into each others eyes. Jeremy leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on Anastasia's lips. A small smile spread across her face.

"Goodnight," she whispered.

"Goodnight," Jeremy said with a lopsided grin. Anastasia buried her face into his chest and soon, the two of them fell into a deep sleep.

**There's chapter 13! I hope you liked it! Please Review!**


	14. Betrayel

**So that last chapter actually inspired me to write this one. Maybe I don't have writer's block after all…Well, here's chapter 14! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

That same night Elena sat on the sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and eating some of the leftover pasta Anastasia had made that night as she stared into the fire. She had previously been sleeping, snuggled next to Stefan. Or, at least she tried to sleep. After Stefan had fallen asleep himself and she was still struggling with it, Elena got out of bed and went downstairs to get something to eat.

"It's not safe being down here by yourself," came Damon's voice from behind her. He poured himself a glass of whiskey before taking a seat next to Elena.

"Couldn't sleep," she muttered, "You?"

"Same," he said, taking a sip of whiskey, "Didn't feel safe in dear old Stefan's arms?" Elena noted the hint of jealousy in his tone. She looked at Damon for a while, taking him in. His pale skin, handsome face, crystal blue eyes and lean body. Anastasia knew how Elena felt about Damon…but was Elena ready to face those feelings herself.

"I know I'm irresistible sexy Elena, but it's rude to stare," Damon said with a slight smirk. Elena blushed at being caught.

"I wasn't staring," she retorted, taking another bite of food. Damon chuckled slightly.

"You know you don't have to watch over me," Elena said, "You can go to bed if you want to."

"Maybe I just enjoy your company," Damon said. Elena blushed again, picking at her food as she pondered what to say next.

"You know," she said slowly, "Anastasia thinks we should be, like, a couple. Crazy huh?" She expected Damon to joke back, so his silence surprised her. She turned to see him staring at her with those intense blue eyes.

"Is it Elena?" he asked, his voice dead serious, any hint of joking or teasing gone. Elena opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. Damon leaned close to her.

"Is what we feel so each other so _insane_?" he asked, his breath brushing across her face. Elena's voice still failed her.

"Elena," Damon said softly, "Do you love me?" Elena's heart beat rapidly at the question that hung heavy in the air.

"Answer the question Elena" Damon said, his tone barely an order, but an order nonetheless, "Do you love me?"

"Yes," Elena said, the words escaping her mouth before she could stop it. Damon seemed to be surrounding her, like a fog. He was everywhere and she couldn't escape.

A second later, Damon's lips were on hers, hot and passionate. Elena knew she should have pushed him away. She should have yelled at him for kissing her. So why did her arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer? Why did she allow him to lay her down on the couch, his body hovering over her own? Why didn't she fight when his tongue slipped into her mouth and played with her own?

"Damon?" said a voice from the hallway. Damon and Elena shot up. Stefan stood there and when his eyes fell on Elena, she saw the hurt in his eyes. He said, in a voice so broken that Elena felt her own heart wrench as he muttered, "Elena?"

**Evil cliffhanger, I know, but I couldn't resist XD I hope you liked this chapter! Please Review!**


	15. Feelings

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 14! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

With vampire speed Stefan was across the room and had Damon pinned to the wall. In blurs, the moved around the room, Damon struggling to get Stefan off of him. Anastasia and Jeremy came from upstairs.

"What the hell is going on here?" Anastasia asked, seeing Damon and Stefan fighting.

"Guys, stop it!" Elena shouted, but they either couldn't hear her over the stuff they were knocking over or were ignoring her. At vampire speed, Anastasia rushed over and pulled him apart, she placed a one hand on the chest of each Salvatore brother and – even though they seemed to be fighting against her as hard as they could – she held them apart.

"And I repeat," she said, "What the hell is going on?"

"Him…and Elena…" Stefan said breathing heavily and teeth clenched in anger, "They were…kissing." Anastasia's eyebrows shot up and she glanced at Damon.

"You've always been like this," Stefan growled, "Anything I had, you just had to ruin it or take it away."

"Okay, time out," Anastasia said, "I need the full story from someone that's not ready to rip someone's head off. Elena, what happened?" Elena jumped slightly at being called upon. Especially since she'd rather not answer the question.

"Damon and I…kissed," she said softly, avoiding Stefan's eyes. Anastasia looked from Damon to Stefan and back.

"If I let you two go, will you kill each other?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm fine," Damon snapped, "He started it!"

"Silence!" Anastasia screamed, "Damon, stand over there," she motioned to the wall on her left, "Stefan over there," she motioned to the wall on right. The brother's shared one last glare before doing as they were told. Anastasia sat next to Elena, taking both of her hands in her own.

"Elena," she said softly so that neither Damon nor Stefan could hear, "Was it…mutual?" Tears brimmed in Elena's as she bit her bottom lip and nodded slowly. Anastasia patted Elena's hand.

"Stefan, Elena, come with me," Anastasia said, standing up, "Damon, stay."

"Woof," Damon said sarcastically from his spot near the wall. Stefan followed Anastasia upstairs to her room. She closed the door behind them. Stefan stood in a dark corner while Elena sat on the bed.

"Okay, you two have…a lot to talk about," she said, rubbing her temples as if she had a headache, "Elena…you know what you have to do." Elena nodded slowly, staring down at the floor.

"I'll be right outside the door if you need me," Anastasia said, stepping out and closing the door.

"Why?" Stefan asked, and Elena's heart broke as he heard tears thick in his voice.

"I don't know," Elena whispered.

"How long?" Stefan asked, taking a slow step toward her, "How long have you…felt like this about Damon?" Elena shrugged her shoulders.

"I-I don't know," she said, "I guess…it's always been there. I just chose to ignore it. I wanted pretend it wasn't there. Damon wasn't the best guy when I first met him…and then there was the thing with Jeremy…Stefan, I'm so sorry." Stefan ran a hand through his hair, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"Please don't blame Damon," Elena pleaded.

"How can I not?" Stefan growled, "Every good thing that has ever happened to me has been ruined by Damon. And now you…" Stefan looked unable to even finish the sentence. Hesitantly, Elena got up, walked over to Stefan and slowly wrapped her arms around his waist.

"I will _always _love you Stefan," she whispered.

"But not how you love Damon," Stefan said sadly. Elena hesitated for a moment before answering.

"No," she whispered, letting go of him just enough to look into his eyes.

"If this is how you feel," he said softly, "If I really do love you…I should let you go…" Elena noticed the single tear that trailed down Stefan's face as he spoke those words. She leaned forward and kissed the tear away.

"Thank you," she whispered. She leaned forward again and they shared one last, longing kiss.

Together, they walked out of the room

"All well I presume?" Anastasia asked with a slight smile. Elena nodded, letting out a long sigh. They all went back downstairs.

"Jeremy went to get something to eat in the kitchen," Damon said before Anastasia could ask, "So am I still on Stefan's hit list."

"Not for now," Stefan said, half joking. Anastasia clapped her hands, a bright smile now on her face.

"Lovely!" she squealed, "Now hug!" Stefan, Damon and Elena looked at her like she had just grown a second head and even Jeremy's shout of, "Say what?" was heard.

"I'm serious," Anastasia said, crossing her arms defiantly, "Moments like this call for hugging. I order it. You wouldn't want to make a 782 year old vampire mad, would you?" she asked, tilting her head to the side in the most innocent way. Between the options of hugging or getting beaten within an inch of death by a 782 year old vampire Stefan and Damon knew the obvious choice. The two brothers shared a quick, but brotherly hug.

"Awww," Anastasia squealed and even Elena smiled at the small gesture.

"Well, all this drama has me famished," Anastasia said, "I'm going to have a quick bite to eat before going back to bed." Anastasia bounced into the kitchen, going straight for the freezer and pulling out a carton of chocolate ice cream. She took a seat next to Jeremy who was munching on cookies.

"So I'm guessing everything is okay," Jeremy said with a grin, "Either that or you forced Damon and Stefan to hug for your own sick pleasure."

"Maybe it was both," Anastasia said mischievously and then giggled, "Yeah, they made up." She leaned forward and bit off a bit off cookie that was protruding from Jeremy's mouth.

"Mmmm, tasty," she giggled.

"I was eating that," Jeremy said.

"Well come and get it," Anastasia teased. Jeremy leaned forward and captured Anastasia's lips in a heated kiss. She tasted like chocolate chip cookies and chocolate ice cream…and _delicious _combination. He deepened the kiss, his tongue brushing against Anastasia's sweet one. She leaned over, straddling Jeremy's waist as the continued their make-out session. Jeremy's lips traveled a hot path down her neck as his hand caressed the bare skin revealed by the slit of her nightgown.

"S-Shouldn't we t-take this somewhere more p-private?" Anastasia stammered, it was hard to think straight with what Jeremy's lips were doing to her skin, "Wouldn't w-want someone to walk in on us." Jeremy chuckled in agreement. The two of them retreated to her room and the door had barely closed when Anastasia pounced on Jeremy, attacking his lips with her own. Her nimble fingers slipped under his shirt, tracing patterns over his stomach. She felt his muscles contract under her touch.

"Anastasia," he groaned. Anastasia giggled.

"I love it when you say my name like that," she whispered.

Jeremy rolled over, trapping Anastasia beneath him, a lopsided grin on his face. He kissed her lips, hard. His hand slowly pulled down the sleeve of her nightgown…

* * *

The early morning sun crept through the curtains. Anastasia stared up at Jeremy's peaceful, sleeping face as her fingers traced vague patterns on his chest. She went over that nights events in her head and smiled. They way Jeremy was able to set her every nerve on fire with a touch or kiss, the feeling of his hands exploring her body, the way he fit perfectly inside her and how they moved in perfect sync together.

Jeremy's eyes opened slightly and he smiled at her.

"Good morning," he said groggily, leaning down to kiss her.

"Good morning," Anastasia whispered, smiling up at him. She snuggled into Jeremy's chest. She gently stroked the bite mark on his neck.

"Sorry about that," she whispered, "Guess I got a bit carried away."

"It's okay," Jeremy reassured her, "It was actually kind of hot." Anastasia giggled, staring up into Jeremy's dark brown eyes.

"I love you Jeremy," she whispered. Jeremy's smile widened as he stroked her hair.

"I love you too," he whispered.

**Awww, the fluff ^-^ Why didn't I include a written out sex scene? 1) I wanted to keep this story T rated and 2) It made me feel uncomfortable enough to even **_**contemplate **_**Elena's little brother doing this and type it up. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Please Review!**


	16. The Plan

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 16! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

"Jeremy, have you seen Anastasia? She wasn't in her room..." Elena's voice trialed off as she entered her brother's room, to find him in bed with, entangled with Anastasia.

"Elena!" he shouted in shock. The three of them stared at each other awkwardly. Elena squeezed her eyes closed.

"Never mind," she said quickly before she shut the door. She raced downstairs to come face to face with Damon.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the mixed look of shock and disgust on her face.

"I just caught Jeremy and Anastasia in bed together," Elena said, rubbing her temples, "Ugh, I'm never going to get that image out of my head."

"Were they doing the dirty?" Damon said with a mischievous grin, "The horizontal tango? The beast with two backs?"

"Damon!" Elena shouted, putting her hands over her ears, "Please, this is my little brother."

"And a teenage boy," Damon pointed out. Elena just rolled her eyes at him.

"They were just lying there," Elena said, "But…" she shuddered at the mere thought. She was given a distraction when the doorbell rang. She opened it and Bonnie came in.

"I've been thinking…why do you look like you've just seen a ghost?" Bonnie asked, walking in.

"She caught Jeremy and Anastasia in bed together after doing the _naughty naughty_," Damon said with a smirk, wiggling his eyebrows. Elena winced slightly at the thought.

"Ummm, okay…" Bonnie said, awkwardly, "I could have gone my whole life without that image. Anyway, I thought we should straighten out the plan since the masquerade is only a few days away."

"I'll go get the lovebirds," Damon said.

* * *

Anastasia and Jeremy were still in bed, sharing long, passionate kisses. Jeremy was currently on top of Anastasia, ravaging her mouth with his own. The sound of the door opening startled them both.

"Captain Cockblock here to tell you to come downstairs," Damon said, his voice telling them that he was clearly enjoying ruining their moment, "Bonnie wants to finalize the plan for the Masquerade."

A few minutes later, Jeremy and Anastasia came downstairs, fully dressed. Damon, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie and Alaric were already gathered in the living room.

"Anastasia, this is Alaric," Stefan introduced, "Alaric, this is Anastasia, the vampire I told you about."

"Vampire hunter," Alaric said, shaking Anastasia's hand, "But I'm on your side."

"So I looked up the spell and I'm pretty sure I can do it," Bonnie said.

"Pretty sure?" Damon asked.

"I can do it," Bonnie said firmly, "I just need a room."

"I've been in the Lockwood Mansion before," Jeremy said, his brow furrowed in concentration, "If I remember well, there's a lounge room to the left of the main staircase. That should be big enough."

"Anastasia, Jeremy, come here," Alaric said. Anastasia and Jeremy followed him to a table full of complicated looking devices. The main thing they noticed was that each was attached to a stake, or multiple stakes.

"I showed everyone else how to use these," Alaric said, "You'll all be armed, in case Katherine comes after you. Jeremy, I recommend this for you." Alaric picked up a cylinder shaped, black thing with stakes tucked into it. He slipped it onto his own wrist.

"Fits nice under a jacker sleeve," Alaric said, "And to use it you just…" Alaric pushed his middle finger down on the device and a stake shot out into his hand and he jabbed his hand forward.

"Awesome," Jeremy said with a grin.

"Anastasia, I got something special for you, Elena and Bonnie," he said. He went over to three clutch bags at the corner of the table. One was a plain black with metal green flowers on it, one gold with dark purple metal birds on it and the last silver with gold metal roses on it. Alaric opened the silver to reveal that a row of stakes was inside.

"To activate it, you just do this," he said, "Press down on this rose." He pressed his middle finger on a rose near the center of the bag. One of the roses toward the front flipped up and a stake shot out.

"If you want to shoot a stake, just press this one," Alaric said, tapping the rose to the right of the first one he showed her.

"Functional and fabulous!" Anastasia said with a grin.

"Jeremy will tell Katherine that Damon and I want to meet her at the lake near the woods at Lockwood Mansion and that we have the Moon Stone," Stefan said when Alaric, Jeremy and Anastasia returned to the group, "That will immediately make her suspicious, but she'll be wrong. Anastasia, that's where you come in. Let Katherine find you. Let her threaten you and make it seem like your scared. Act like your betraying us when she asks what's going on. Tell her we're planning to kill her. When she asks if we have the Moon Stone, act like you don't know at first, but then tell her it's hidden be in the room Jeremy mentioned. Damon and I will be waiting in there and finish it."

"What do I do?" Elena asked.

"Be safe and try not to get killed," Damon said, pressing a kiss to her temple. He chuckled at the glare she shot him.

"Well that and one more thing," Damon said, "You're the most important part."

"You'll have this," Bonnie said, holding up a smooth, cloudy white stone, a about the size of her palm, "After much research, I was able to find an authorized picture of the moonstone. This is just a replica –an exact one actually - I was able to create using Emily's spell book. I suspect Katherine would be suspicious walking into a room with no evidence the Moon Stone is in there. You'll be in the room Anastasia will lead Anastasia to, holding this Moon Stone. Katherine doesn't see you as a threat, so I have no doubt she would hesitate to go in and take it.

"That's when we attack," Damon said with a smirk.

"And Elena, you get out of there quick," Bonnie said, "You won't be affected by the spell I'll use to trap Katherine in the room. Unfortunately, Stefan and Damon will be trapped in there with her – Don't worry, I'll be able to get you out when you kill her." Bonnie said in response to the momentary looks of horror on Stefan and Damon's faces.

"Elena, there's one more thing we want you to do," Stefan said, slowly, almost cautiously. He and Damon shared a glance.

"Damon and I talked about this last night…" Stefan said, "And we understand if you don't want to do it but…"

"Can I tell this to Elena alone?" Damon asked. Stefan nodded and everyone left the living room to go upstairs. Damon scooted closer to Elena on the couch.

"It's like Stefan said," Damon said, his eyes holding a seriousness Elena saw only on rare occasions, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I can understand if you don't want to, it's so selfish of Stefan and I-"

"Damon, what is it?" Elena asked. Damon took a deep breath.

"The night of the Masquerade, I'm going to drink some of your blood," he said slowly, "And I want you to take some of mine. Just in case you die – you shouldn't if everything goes as planned but just in case you do…"

"I'll come back as a vampire," Elena finished quietly for him.

"Like I said, if you don't want to, you don't have to," Damon said quickly, "I know it's a huge thing to ask of you."

"No," Elena said, "I want to do it." Damon's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've thought about it for a while," Elena said, "I knew the choice would come inevitably. And Damon," she cupped his cheek in her hand, "I want to be with you. Forever." Damon smiled at her. A true Damon smile that came so rarely.

"I don't deserve you," he said softly.

"But you're stuck with me anyway," Elena giggled, giving Damon a soft kiss on his lips.

"Okay, you guys can come in now," Damon said, rolling his eyes, but a grin on his face. There was a gasp from the staircase and Elena turned around to see Jeremy, Anastasia, Bonnie and Alaric standing at the foot of the staircase.

"I told you he'd catch you," Stefan said, coming down the stairs. Every gathered back into the living room.

"Well, if anyone wants to back out, now's the chance," Stefan said.

"Yeah," Damon said, "If you have cold feet speak now or forever hold your peace, I don't want anything going wrong when someone chickens out." Everyone in the room exchanged glances, wondering if anyone would speak.

"Bonnie?" Stefan asked, knowing how she felt about getting mixed in with all this vampire stuff. Bonnie's green eyes darted nervously around the room.

"As long as no one gets hurt," she said softly.

"Except Katherine," Damon piped up, a deliciously malicious smirk on his face, "That night, Katherine gets a stake through her heart."

**So yeah, you may have noticed that the dialogue toward the end of this chapter was the same as in the episode. I just absolutely loved that moment of the episode and wanted to keep it in. That moment just had such a sense of unity amongst everyone in it and Damon's line was the cherry on top of that ice cream sundae of AWESOMENESS (yeah, I think I've had to much candy today XD). And I just loved the idea of the purse/stake device thing! Like Anastasia said "Functional and fabulous!" Plus I didn't want Bonnie and Elena especially going into everything unprotected. And about that "beast with two backs" thing, it's actually something I learned in drama class. It was a term used long ago to describe sex. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Please Review!**


	17. Gone

**Thanks for the great reviews! Here's chapter 17! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

The air in the Salvatore house was tense during the night of the Masquerade. Elena, Bonnie and Anastasia were getting ready in Elena's room. They had just changed into the dresses and Anastasia was currently doing Elena's hair into an elegant bun, fixing her hair to conveniently cover the bite mark from Damon earlier. Bonnie kept fiddling with the hem of her dress – a short, strapless gold dress decorated with huge, elegant dark red flowers on it, that stopped at her knees with a skirt that flared out. Her mask was gold with a pale gold lace trim. No one spoke a word. A knock on the door broke the tense silence.

"Come in," Anastasia chimed. Stefan poked his head through the door.

"I just wanted to tell you to come downstairs when you're ready," Stefan said. Anastasia nodded and Stefan closed the door, leaving the girls once again in their silence.

* * *

The drive over to the Masquerade was tense. Anastasia and Bonnie rode in Jeremy's car while Elena rode with Stefan and Damon.

Once there, the plan was put into action without a word. They scattered among the mansion in search for Katherine, Damon and Elena went inside to the main dining area, Stefan on the patio, Bonnie readying the room and Jeremy and Anastasia on the dance floor. Anastasia had already told them what Katherine was going to be wearing…or supposed to be wearing. Knowing Katherine, she would have changed, but Anastasia knew Katherine well enough and scanned the place as her and Jeremy danced around. Since Katherine would undoubtedly be listening for them, Anastasia told Jeremy she would kiss his neck as a sign Katherine was here.

After a few minutes, she saw her. Dressed in a knee length, black, halter dress, blood red heels and a bright red, full-face mask with black rose. Her hair was done up in a curly ponytail.

Anastasia pressed a kiss to Jeremy's neck and he knew what she meant. Pulling out her cell phone, Anastasia texted: _Black halter dress, red shoes, red and black full-face mask, curly ponytail. _As she and Jeremy danced, she saw Stefan and Bonnie take out their cell phones on the patio, and then from a window, Damon and Elena did the same. Anastasia saw Bonnie step outside with two glasses and walk over to Stefan, but keeping her eyes on Anastasia in a silent message that the room was ready.

"Be safe," Anastasia whispered to Jeremy, so quietly only he could hear. She pressed a long, passionate kiss to his lips before parting. Stefan went inside with Damon and Elena while Anastasia spoke to Bonnie.

"It'll work," Bonnie said, handing Anastasia a drink, who downed it quickly. She nodded as the two of them pretended to make small talk as they watched Katherine and Jeremy. Anastasia used her super hearing to hear the conversation.

"Stefan and Damon want to meet you," she heard Jeremy say, "By the lake near he woods. They have the moonstone."

"And why are you their little messenger boy?" Katherine drawled.

"Because I'm not afraid of you," Jeremy said firmly.

"Jeremy, don't be foolish," Anastasia whispered.

"What's happening?" Bonnie murmured anxiously.

"He's just playing the fearless hero," Anastasia said, taking another drink from a passing waiter, "That'll get him killed around Katherine." She downed the drink and watched with relief as Katherine walked away. Jeremy pulled out his cell and a second later, Anastasia's cell buzzed.

_You're turn. Be safe. I love you_. was all it said.

_I love you too. _Anastasia quickly texted back before glancing at Bonnie, who understood what was happening. Anastasia went inside and used her super hearing to follow Katherine's footsteps, which were getting closer to her. Anastasia went down an empty hallway leading to a bathroom when suddenly, a strong hand wrapped around her neck and slammed her into a wall.

"What's going on?" Katherine hissed from behind her mask.

"What do you mean?" Anastasia asked innocently.

"I've got your boy toy leading me out to the lake," Katherine snapped, "And I'm guessing if he's so desperate to lure me into an oh-so-obvious trap, you all must know where the Moon Stone is. So where is it?"

"I don't know," Anastasia said, forcing tears out of her eyes. Katherine's grip tightened.

"Okay, okay," Anastasia sobbed, "Damon and Stefan…they're trying to kill you."

"No shit," Katherine snapped, "Where is the Moon Stone?" Anastasia hesitated before whispering, "Upstairs." Katherine grabbed Anastasia's wrists and dragged her upstairs.

"Which room?" Katherine snapped. Anastasia bit her bottom lip, forcing out tears as she whispered, "That one." Katherine dragged her to the room where Elena stood, sitting on an armchair against near fireplace, the fake Moon Stone in her left hand and a stake in her right.

"Foolish girl," Katherine drawled, ripping off her mask and tossing it to the side, "You have spunk, I'll give you that." Katherine released Anastasia and stormed into the room.

"But do you honestly think that little thing will kill me," Katherine said with a smirk, "I can snap you're neck before you could blink." Elena stood so that she and Katherine were nose to nose.

"Hand it over," Katherine ordered. Elena dropped the fake Moon Stone into Katherine's waiting hand, watching Damon and Stefan slip into the room, each holding a stake crossbow.

"I just have one thing to say," Elena said.

"Make it quick," Katherine drawled.

"Bye-bye," Elena chimed, moving of the way as stakes shot out of the crossbows and pierced Katherine's body, one through her side and one near her heart. Elena left the room to avoid any stray stakes.

The moment seemed to play in slow motion before Anastasia's eyes. She stood outside the room, like she was watching a movie. She heard Elena say "oh" and turned to see what had gotten the girl's attention. Then Anastasia saw it. She saw the blood stain the green of Elena's gown where Katherine had been wounded and it fell into place. Katherine was smarter than they gave her credit for.

"Do you think you're the only one with a witch?" Katherine cackled. Just as Anastasia shouted, "STOP!"…Stefan drove a stake through Katherine's heart.

Anastasia rushed to Elena. Katherine's graying corpse laid on the floor. It was then that the Salvatore brother's heard Anastasia crying and raced to the doorway, only to be stopped at the frame by the spell.

"What happened to Elena?" Damon shouted, seeing the blood. Stefan's face

"Katherine," Anastasia said, real tears now streaming down her cheeks, "She must know a witch. I've seen this spell before, she had a witch link her to Elena." Stefan's green eyes went wide with horror.

"I killed her," he said in barely a whisper. Anastasia gently lifted Elena and bought her into the room.

"Damon gave her blood," Anastasia said softly, laying Elena down on a couch, "And she gave him his. She'll be back soon."

**So there's chapter 17! During the episode _Masquerade_, I wondered what would have happened if Damon and Stefan did kill Katherine, thus killing Elena. I thought it would have been an interesting twist if she had vampire blood in her and came back as a vampire. But alas, it did not happen...although the episode was still AWESOME! Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! Please Review!**


	18. Forever and Never Normal

**Here's the final chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries.**

Anastasia texted Bonnie and Jeremy to come upstairs. The minute they saw Elena's motionless body, they rushed over. Anastasia told them what happened since Damon and Stefan, sitting next to Elena's motionless body on the couch, seemed to unable to speak at the time. She told Bonnie and Jeremy of the pact Elena had made with Damon and that she would come back as a vampire.

"I can't believe this," Bonnie whispered, brushing a stray hair from Elena's face, tears shimmering in her eyes, "She never asked for all of this to happen to her. Why her?"

"Fate," was all Anastasia said. Minutes ticked by slowly and suddenly, Elena shot up, coughing.

"Elena," all five of them rang out. Elena's eyes darted around, taking in her surroundings. The blood on her dress, Katherine's gray corpse on the floor.

"She's gone?" were the first words out of her mouth, "But…I…"

"Died," Anastasia said, "When Stefan drove a stake through Katherine's heart…Elena, Katherine had a witch link her to you so that whatever happened to her, happened to you. We realized to late."

"I'm sorry," Stefan finally said, tears brimming in his eyes, "Elena, if I had any idea this would happen." Elena wrapped her arms around Stefan in a hug.

"It's okay," she murmured, "I'm fine. It's okay."

"You could have died," Damon murmured, his crystal blue eyes looking at Elena, but at the same time seeming to look through her.

"But I didn't…" Elena's sentence trailed off as she realized what she was about to say, "I'm here and that's all that matters."

"Bonnie, can you take down the seal?" Anastasia asked, "We should get all this cleaned up before someone comes in." Bonnie nodded and walked over to the doorway. She pressed her hands to the frame, muttering something under her breath.

"You can leave," she said after about a minute.

"You all go," Anastasia said, "Take…that with you…" Anastasia nodded to Katherine's corpse, "I'll run damage control in here." She motioned to the blood stained rug and couch.

"I'll wait for you in the car," Jeremy said before leaving with the rest.

After almost half an hour, Anastasia got into Jeremy's car.

"I compelled Mrs. Lockwood," she said, "I made her think some drunk teenagers got a little too crazy playing with fake blood and told her she would have a steam cleaner come first thing in the morning to clean it up." Anastasia looked up at Jeremy with weary eyes. For the first time since meeting her, Jeremy felt like he was looking at a 782 year old vampire who had seem and been through everything and it was all catching up to her. A faint smile crossed Anastasia's lips.

"It's all over," she said with tears in her eyes, "I can't believe it."

"What are you going to do now?" Jeremy asked hesitantly, not sure if he wanted an answer, "I mean, you came back to kill Katherine."

"That was my reason for coming here," Anastasia said, then put her hand on top of Jeremy's. He glanced at Anastasia and smiled as he saw her smiling a full, dazzling smile at him as she said, "And now I have a reason to stay."

* * *

"It's over," Elena kept mumbling on the way home, as if she couldn't believe it. Katherine's corpse was in the trunk. Stefan planned to dump it somewhere in the woods after getting Elena and Damon back to the boarding house. Bonnie was going with Stefan to bury the corpse in order to give Elena some muc needed time to talk with Damon about her current...condition.

Once inside, Elena and Damon sat on the couch, in front of the fireplace.

"How are you feeling?" Damon asked. Elena shrugged.

"The same, but different," she said, "Everything just seems…magnified. My emotions, my senses…and I'm _really _hungry." Damon chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, that happens," he said. He cupped Elena's cheek in his hand, looking into her eyes.

"Are you sure you don't regret this?" he asked. Elena smiled at him.

"Positive," she said, leaning over to kiss his lips lightly. She knew the transformation wasn't over. She would have to feed on a human...today probably. But for now she just wanted to live in the moment.

"I love you Elena," Damon murmured, against her lips.

"And I love you Damon," she whispered. With vampire speed, Damon picked her up bridal style and whisked her upstairs. Elena felt her back collide with his soft mattress. Damon's lips collided with hers in a heated kiss as the first rays of sunlight crept through the curtains. Damon parted just enough and started to get up the close the curtains. He vaguely wondered if Anastasia knew anyone or anywhere to get Elena a daylight ring.

"Wait," Elena said, grabbing Damon's hand and pulling him down next to her. She wrapped herself in the blanket in case the sun got to close.

"I want to see the sun rise," she whispered. Damon smiled down at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head and murmured in her ear, "This is the first day of our forever."

* * *

Bonnie and Stefan drove in a comfortable silence through the woods for a few miles, the early morning rays of the sun started peeking through the trees. After awhile, Stefan stopped and he and Bonnie got out and he got Katherine's corpse out of the trunk.

"Wait," Bonnie said as Stefan took a shovel out of the trunk to dig a grave - they kept one in the trunk for occasions such as these when a staked vampire or body needed to be hidden.

"What if someone finds her?" Bonnie said, "Or a witch tries to bring her back? I want to make sure no one _ever _finds her."

"Any ideas?" Stefan asked. Bonnie nodded.

"One," she said. She stared at Katherine's corpse, murmuring something under her breath. Stefan watched as Katherine's corpse erupted into flames. All was silent but the flickering flames and Bonnie's voice. After a few minutes, Bonnie stopped and the fire disappeared to reveal nothing but ashes. A wind came and blew them away.

"Are you okay?" Bonnie asked, seeing the intense look on Stefan's face, "It's just...so much has happened tonight. In the past 145 years. And now it's over. It's almost to good to be true."

"Miss the excitement?" Bonnie joked sarcastically. Stefan let out a small laugh.

"I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet actually," he said.

"You know Bonnie," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You're not half bad for a witch." Usually, Bonnie would have recoiled from the touch of a vampire, but something about Stefan's touch was comforting.

"And you're not bad for a vampire," she said with a smile.

"Things might start go back to normal around here," Stefan said wistfully, looking around. Bonnie chuckled as she said, "Things are never normal in Mystic Falls."

**THE END! I'll probably end up making a sequel to this someday. I really liked the character of Anastasia and I don't want to let her go (and there is an explanation for her being able to walk in daylight that I meant to get to, but never did :P). Plus I'd like to do more with Elena as a vampire. If you have any request, feel free to leave them in a review or PM me. A little fun fact about this chapter fun fact, Damon and Elena's moment was actually supposed to be the end of this chapter, but I liked Bonnie's ending line better 'cause it was true. What other town can you get vampires, werewolves and witches other than Mystic Falls :D Also, I wanted the story to end on a neutral note instead of centering in on a couple. Anyways, I hope you liked this story! Please Review!**


	19. AN: POSSIBLE SEQUEL!

**So I'm thinking of doing a sequel to this with Klaus in it. Only problem is that I have never read **_**The Vampire Diaries **_**books, so I all I know about Klaus is the little bit they've mentioned in the show. Can someone give me a bit of background on him? Please and thank you!**

_~MoonlightSpirit~_


	20. AN: CHAPTER 1 OF THE SEQUEL IS UP!

**HI! The first chapter to the sequel to this is now up! The title is **_**Where the End Begins.**_

_~MoonlightSpirit~_


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